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Tag: NCAA

  • NCAA pledges fairness in procurement bid

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will be fair in considering the bids for the 2013 Procurement Project, its Director of Administration Aba Ajembi, has said.

    Ajembi, who is chairman of the Bid Opening, said the process would open in line with the Public Procurement Act of 2007.

    Addressing reporters in Lagos, he said he was overwhelmed by the large number of people who expressed interest in the process.

    The bids, he said, were divided into several categories including Information communication technology, building and renovation projects as well as and supply of vehicle spares and other items.

    “By expressing your interest and coming to witness the bidding process, you have demonstrated your confidence in NCAA’s ability to deliver and follow due process,” he added.

    The bids opening, he said, had reached a stage after many months of preparation by the agency.

    What the bidders had done, he said, was part of participation in national development, adding that by submitting their bids, the bidders are exercising their democratic right.

    “On the part of NCAA, whatever we do, people must have confidence in us. People must trust us. People must also know that when we ground aircraft for example it is for safety and for the sake of the flying public. If you are doing business with us, is rest assured that fairness will be our watch word and due process and transparency will be the other of the day in line with Public Procurement Act of 2007,” he added.

     

    On his part, a representative of the Director General of NCAA, who is also the company Secretary, Barrister Pollie Okoronkwo, said “your coming shows that you value us and that you want to do business with us .We would not only follow due process but we would also ensure that the process is transparent.”

     

     

  • Medview Airlines gets six international routes

    Medview Airlines gets six international routes

    Medview Airlines said yesterday it had been designated by the Federal Government to fly into six regional and international routes to actualise the principle of reciprocity in the bilateral air services agreement the government signed with other countries.

    The routes, according to the Managing Director of the airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, include 14 frequencies on the Lagos /Accra route; Lagos / Dakar; Lagos / Libreville; Lagos/ Abuja / Jeddah; Kano / Jeddah, which are four frequencies.

    Others are Lagos/Dubai and Enugu /Singapore.

    He said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) has granted Medview Airlines the international air permit to carry out out international operations.

    He said Medview Airlines is the first carrier to be awarded the new international permit by the new Director-General of the authority, Captain Folaleye Akinkuotu.

    Bankole assured that before the end of the year, Medview Airlines would begin direct flights into Dubai.

    Plans are in place to consolidate on other routes, in which the airline has been designated, he added.

    He said since Medview Airlines began operations on the domestic routes a year ago, it has flown over 250,000 passengers.

    He said the carrier airlifts a monthly average of about 30,000 monthly.

    Bankole said: ”It has been for pride of this company and for Nigeria to see a domestic airline within a short space of time growing as you have seen.”

    We are proud to tell you that, we spoke with you in January and we promised you that in another six to eight months we will give you two more aircraft, this one of them acquired by MedView, it is an aircraft that we purchase, we call it lease purchase and we have 737-800 coming in very soon.

  • NCAA to probe airlines’safety compliance

    The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is probing domestic airlines to ensure that safety and airworthiness are not compromised.

    According to sources, this is to ensure that aircraft engineers, flight dispatchers, pilots and other critical safety personnel in the airlines adhere strictly to the rules.

    Part of the new strategy is the scaling of airline operations to available technical capacity.

    The NCAA, it was learnt, is keen on ensuring that only airlines with competent and licensed personnel are allowed to remain in  safe operations.

    Its Director, Airworthiness, Benedict Adeyileka, said the NCAA is probing the airlines to ensure that they have licensed personnel adequate enough for the scale of their operations, in areas critical as airworthiness, engineering, flight dispatch and aircraft loading.

    He spoke of plans by the NCAA to ensure that an adequate safety management system designed by individual operator is strictly adhered to ensure that robust compliance.

    He said areas where airlines would need adequate training of critical personnel to fill obvious gaps would be examined, adding that the regulator would want to know the peculiar challenges of individual carrier to ensure threats to safety are reduced.

    He said NCAA would not frown at safety regulations violations, noting that where possible, the certificate of airworthiness of any defaulting carrier could be held until a reported snag in its operations or aircraft is fixed.

  • NCAA insists on high safety standard

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has insisted on strict adherance to high safety standard in the sector.

    The authority also laid to rest the ongoing condemnation of some controversial Air Operators’Certificates (AOCs) issued by regulatory body to some new airlines before a substantive director-general for the NCAA was appointed.

    According to its Director, Airworthiness and Standard, Mr Benedict Adeyileka, the AOCs issued during the period met the required safety standards and regulations as set by the authority.

    He insisted that the regulatory body would not compromise safety, describing the allegation as serious.

    The President of Aviation Round Table (ART), Captain Dele Ore, and the Assistant Secretary, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Alhaji Mohammed Tukur and some key players in the sector, had about a fortnightly ago alleged that the AOCs issued by the then Acting Director-General of the regulatory body, Mr Joyce Nkemakolam, did not meet the safety standards.

    Ore and the others claimed that the new AOCs did not meet the required safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and NCAA, warning the flying public against patronising such airlines.

    They tasked the Ministry of Aviation to direct the new Director-General, Captain Folayele Akinkuotu, to recertify those certificates, maintaining that any attempt to ignore this call might jeopardise safety of the traveling public.

    Adeyikeka had, in the defense of the issued AOCs, further insisted: “The different offices in NCAA will continue to function even in the absence of their directors. For instance, if the Director of Licensing is on holiday, does it mean we should shut down the office and no license would be issued until he comes back? Is that what we are asking for?

    “Do you think you are being fair to those people who have spent time and lots of money? Everybody is talking about 50hrs demonstration flights; you can do more or even less, depending on how you are able to convince the authority that you can carry out safety operations at all times. The 50hrs demonstration flight does not give you the assurance of an AOC.”

     

  • NCAA will not liquidate any airline, says director general

    NCAA will not liquidate any airline, says director general

    Director general of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), Captain Folayele Akinkuotu said yesterday that it is not in the interest of the authority to liquidate any domestic airline .

    He said the NCAA would wish that all airlines remain profitable , while at the same time comply with industry regulations.

    The director general stated this at the Aviation House at a meeting with the chairman and management team of Caverton Helicopters in Ikeja , Lagos.

    The Director General explained that as a regulator, he will always access airlines from the point of view of adherence to the industry laws.

    He said that the authority will provide the enabling environment for airlines to operate and succeed adding that the way to go is to stand to accept compliance to the law at all times.

    While expressing his wish for airlines to succeed and make profit, the director general prayed for accident / incident free period throughout his tenure.

    Also speaking Chairman of Caverton , Mr. Aderemi Makinjuola said the team paid a visit to the Director General to pledge their support promising to continue to execute their work and responsibilities with due diligence and recourse to the existing industry laws.

    He added that they are always willing to make corrections whenever there is a mistake in the course of their operations.

    Meanwhile, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Capt.Fola Akinkuotu has described the drive of the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah in transforming the industry a development that poses a huge challenge to all the parastatals in the industry.

    He stated this while receiving the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Mazi Nnamdi Udoh and his management team, during a solidarity visit to his office.

    He said the transformation agenda could only be actualised if all hands were on deck .

    He said: “The Minister is putting everything in place –infrastructure and adequate manpower to ensure our nation’s airspace is safe and secure.”

    However, he said we the leaders of the parastatals are the people to deliver the promises of the government.

    “People talk about leadership and oftentimes ignore followership. The Minister has shown that she is exemplary in carrying out her duties and this has culminated in the changes the sector has witnessed lately. We need to face the challenge of providing continuous improvement in our operations.”

    He emphasized that transformation is all encompassing, it involves everybody. We all need to make our contributions to its success.

  • Passengers’ rights: NCAA to penalise erring airlines

    Passengers’ rights: NCAA to penalise erring airlines

    •Authority to open complaint centres

    Stringentpenalties await domestic and foreign carriers that violate the rights of passengers, the Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Folayele Akinkuotu, has said.

    In an interview in Lagos, NCAA boss said the authority would no longer allow carriers to abuse the rights of passengers without any redress.

    He said the NCAA is set to implement the new passengers’ bill of rights, which would become effective this month.

    Akinkuotu,therefore, called on airlines to be self-regulatory to reduce infraction on the rights of passengers.

    While harping on the need for airlines to establish consumer protection units, he urged those that have not to do so, warning that any failure to deal with abuse of passenger rights if reported to NCAA, would attract sanction.

    Akinkuotu said Nigeria could not afford to lag behind in the comity of aviation nations in pursuit of protecting the rights of passengers, because their patronage is key to the survival of any business.

    Besides, he said the NCAA would establish a portal and other electronic avenues through, which passengers could channel their compliant. This, he said, would be treated with dispatch.

    The NCAA boss said the era where airlines could threaten passengers without dignity is over, emphasising that the authority would deploy its personnel in airports nationwide to interact with passengers on the level of service delivery.

    He said many service points would be opened around the airports, from where passengers could lodge their complaints on possible maltreatment by airlines or other service providers.

    He said apart from airlines, other aviation agencies, including ground handling companies, would be monitored to ascertain their level of service, such that the customer is given value for the money paid for any service.

    Akinkuotu said compliance with the passengers’ bill of rights would be process driven, such that in good time, passengers’ complaints are addressed by the relevant personnel.

    He absolved NCAA officials of any complicity in resolving complaints lodged by passengers in the past, saying that any compliant would be examined on its own strength given the circumstances surrounding the incident. He said airlines and other service providers would be invited to give evidence before any matter is resolved.

    Besides, he said the NCAA would also address issues affecting stakeholders covered by the bill of rights.

    He said baggage damage and pilferage would attract the attention of the NCAA as passengers have been affected by this ugly trend, which he said, affects not only the airline, but also the ground handling companies.

    Akinkuotu said: ”There would be enough consumer education to drive this process through. But, we must sound this, the consumer or passenger should also fight for his or her right.We would ensure that all sharp practices by both foreign and domestic airlines are addressed.

    “The era when airlines do not abide by the prescribed time frame for promotional fares are over.

    “Our desire is to see that passengers have a good travel experience from the airlines. The motive is to see that airlines are thinking about good experience for passengers.

    “The passenger has a right to ask questions about good services from airlines, this is the global practice, and Nigeria should not by different.”

    He listed possible infraction that warrants passenger violation of rights to include, delayed or cancelled flights, loss of as well damaged luggage.

    He said airlines must be ready to embrace change by raising the bar in service delivery  to enhance good customer service.

  • NCAA probes airlines on safety compliance

    TO ensure compliance with safety regulations, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has started investigations into the technical operations of domestic airlines.

    The target of the investigation, according to industry sources, is to ensure that aircraft engineers, flight dispatchers, pilots and other critical safety personnel in the airline chain, adhere to industry rules.

    A part of the new strategy is the scaling of airline operations to available technical capacity, in terms of the quality of personnel to match the scale of its operations.

    The Director, Airworthiness, Benedict Adeyileka, who attested to this, said the NCAA is pursuing a safety compliance regime.

    He said the regulator is probing airlines to ensure that they have licensed personnel adequate enough for the scope of their operations, in critical areas such as airworthiness, engineering, flight dispatch and aircraft loading.

    He said the rationale for the investigation is to ensure that noticeable deficiencies are fixed in critical areas to make airline operations safe.

    He spoke of plans by the NCAA to ensure that an adequate safety management system designed by individual operator is strictly complied with.

    He said areas where airlines would need adequate training of critical personnel to fill obvious gaps would be examined, even as he said the regulator would be keen to know the peculiar challenges of individual carrier to ensure threats to safety are minimised.

    He said the NCAA would continue to frown at issues of violation of safety regulations, noting that when and where possible, the certificate of airworthiness of any defaulting carrier would be held until all technical shortcomings are addressed.

     

  • ‘New aviation policy has not threatened NCAA’s autonomy’

    The Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Joyce Nkemakolam, has said the new aviation policy has not threatened the autonomy of the agency.

    He said the new policy has also not impacted negatively on its functions, rather it has created a template to strengthen its roles as a regulator of civil aviation.

    Speaking to reporters at the Aviation House in Ikeja, Lagos, Dr. Nkemakolan said what is enshrined in the new policy has been in operation overtime.

    He said the grounding of airlines could be avoided if operators adhered to the regulatory requirements without violations.

    “If there is no violation or flouting of these regulations, of course, there will be no sanction. We want to eradicate the culture of impunity, which some operators have penchant of taking liberty of. This has got to stop.”

    He said the agency is planning to invite operators and sensitise them to adhere to the regulations guiding their operations.

    On private jet owners, Dr. Nkemakolam said there were limitations and restrictions to the use of private jets for leisure, adding that anybody flying with friends should be captured in their insurance policy.

    “If you have a third party insurance policy, you can fly with them. However, if you don’t, you are working outside the realm of your licence. You must make sure those you intend to carry are covered,” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • NCAA seeks information sharing on aviation threat

    To promote aviation security, airline operators, security agencies and airports’ airports have been urged to embrace information sharing.

    Exchange of information , according to the Acting Director-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr Joyce Nkemakolam, is a way of preventing security threats in the industry.

    In an address at a stakeholders’ seminar at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos with the theme: Dealing with emerging challenges in aviation security, Nkemakolam, represented by the Director, Customer Protection Directorate, Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi said the consequences of insider threat to aviation security world-wide remains high.

    He said hijackers had changed their style from hijacking to blowing up of aircraft in other climes, warning that some aviation security personnel might give out their country due to enticement.

    According to Nkemakolam, threat to civil aviation industry has changed since September 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked the twin towers in the United States.

    Before, he said, terrorists used massive weapons, but have changed to liquids and explosives, which could eliminate hundreds of people in seconds.

    Terrorism threat remained the greatest challenge to safety, he said, to the world, challenging aviation security personnel to be more vigilant at all times as “these deadly men are evolving new ways of beating security.”

    The Vice President, Air Transport Staff Senior Services of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, Comrade Ahmadu Ilitrus, urged airports’users to tackle pilferage and stealing onboard of plane.

    He said the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and cameras at strategic places within the airport would help reduce stealing.

    He said: “It is very important for the airlines and other players in the industry to have effective security training for their personnel. It is not enough for the personnel to be trained in accordance with ICAO standards alone, but they should be periodically trained.

    “Any staff with questionable characters should be dealt with accordingly, which I think will send a note of warning to others and will help in checkmating criminal activities among the people in the sector because pilferage and stealing are done with the collaboration of insiders.”

    An industry player, Comrade Chukwuemeke Iwelumo, said the security challenges called for closer collaboration

    He said: “Serious security challenges like the one that is prevalent in the country today calls for urgent and collaborative action by all stakeholders to stem the development.’’

     

  • Why there is delay in getting airline licence

    How can the acquisition of Air Operators Certificate (AOC) from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) be hastened? It is by employing move technical hands at the agency, says on airline operator, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia

    He said inadequate personnel at the NCAA slows down the process of getting AOC.

    He spoke last weekend while recieving the AOC for his firm, West Link Airlines, a chartered operator for the Umra, lesser hajj.

    On why it took the airline years to get its AOC, Mshelia said there were delays and issues associated with the processes, especially with documentation and required manpower.

    “What I gathered in the system is not new to any of us. When the system has enough manpower, perhaps it may cut down on the time spent to acquire the AOC.”

    “The operator too is also a problem if a document is given to be returned in a day and it takes a week the operator is also delaying himself.”

    Mshelia also said the airline did things exceptionally from others and give its clientel and passengers the best of services.

    “I wouldn’t say it will be different, we would definitely do thing differently because our purpose is to replicate what we. When we travel out.”

    “ Our local carriers over the years have tried our best, we are not saying they are not doing well, we are saying there is room for improvement and we are that airline that will bring improvement and we are putting things in place to make sure that when. We start operating you can look at your watch and know that WestLink has flown.”

    MishAviation in Ghana, will be graduating students in the next few days and this is because of the passion for the industry.

    Presenting the AOC to Mshelia, NCAA’s Director of Airworthiness Standards Benedict Adeyelika, advised the airlines to maintain good safety records.

    According to him, the entrance of Westlink Airlines into the aviation market has opened way for other interested would be airline operators to apply for their AOCs.

    The director assured of NCAA’s assistance to the airline. He advised that rules and regulations guiding the airline operations should be applied.

    Mshelia said his quest to start WestLink started in 1999, but was halted because of the Jos crisis in 2001, noting that the airline wanted to start from the Plateau State capital.