5th April, 2023
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced the extension of the validity period for Air Operator’s certificates.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has stated that the validity period for Air Operator certificates has been extended.
The extensions are five years for scheduled carriers and three years for non-scheduled operators.
The new validity period enables airlines to operate without interruption, and fees and charges have not been updated since 2009.
Engr. Godwin Balang, Chairman of the Regulations Committee, revealed this on Tuesday during a stakeholder consultation on the planned NCAA regulation 2023 in Abuja.
Balang said, “The validity period of the AOC has been extended to five years for scheduled operators and three years for non-scheduled operators just to give AOC holders some freedom to carry out their operations.”
In his opening remarks, the Director General NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu, disclosed the reviewed penalties upwards for violators in the industry with the maximum penalty for airlines standing at N10 million while the minimum at N1m.
Nuhu noted that the upward review of penalties is not punitive but was guided by current realities in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
He added that the powers of the NCAA to regulate civil aviation in Nigeria are captured throughout the Civil Aviation Act 2022, and that Section 31 of the Act empowers the authority to make regulations on all aspects of civil aviation matters.
“As required by Article 37 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Adoption of International Standards and Procedures), these Regulations are made to cover and domesticate all ICAO Standards that are contained in the relevant Annexes.”
According to the NCAA boss, the regulations also address pertinent national matters.