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Tag: NCAA

  • NCAA issues certificate to West Link Airlines

    The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) at the weekend issued an Air Operators’ Certificate (AOC) to West Link Airlines, for general aviation and scheduled operations.

    The issuance of the AOC is a follow up to the airlines’ meeting the prescribed requirements by the NCAA, under the new Nigeria Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), which became effective last month.

    West Link Airlines is among the new airlines to be granted AOC by the NCAA under a stricter regulatory regime rolled out by the authority.

    Presenting the AOC to the Chairman of West Link Airlines, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, the Director of Airworthiness Standards, NCAA, Mr. Benedict Adeyileka, an engineer, hailed the management of the airlines for waiting for the documents, whose processing began in 2010.

    He urged the airlines’ team to ensure that the standard of safety does not fall below expectation and to maintain good safety records at all times.

    According to him, the entrance of West Link Airlines into the Nigerian aviation industry has opened way for other airlines operators to apply for AOCs.

    The director said NCAA was behind the airlines. He said the rules and regulations guiding the airlines operations must be adhered to.

    Mshelia said his ambition to establish West Link Airlines began in 1999, but it was halted because of the Jos crisis in 2001 as the airlines would have started operations from Jos.

  • Experts condemn House report on Rivers, NCAA face-off over aircraft

    The House of Representatives was biased in its probe of the row over the ownership of a Bombardier Global Express aircraft allegedly owned by the Rivers State Government, some aviation experts have said.

    Sheri Kyari, an aircraft engineer and Uche Ojaji, a pilot, said the lawmakers were unfair to the Federal Government, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) and the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency ( NAMA) in their report. The lawmakers upbraided the government, NCAA for undue interference on the handling of the matter.

    Kyari said: “It is embarrassing that the revered House of Representatives could make public such one-sided report without objectively looking at the case on the table and also carrying out thorough investigation; rather, it hurriedly put out a report and blamed those it had already indicted before investigating the incidents that led to the disagreement between the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Rivers State government.

    “By that action, the House is now functioning as the regulator which should not be so. I don’t expect them to come up with a report without hearing from NCAA, Caverton Helicopters and the Ministry of Aviation. The National Assembly should be able to balance its investigation by giving Caverton Helicopters fair hearing.”

    Ojadi called for a system where NCAA would monitor the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) so that it could step in during situations like the matter between Rivers and the NCAA.

    He said: “NCAA as regulator has oversight responsibilities. It issues clearance to aircraft to fly and NAMA enforces that regulation; so if NAMA does not act appropriately NCAA should step in. NAMA should not have allowed the aircraft to even take off when its clearance certificate had expired.”

  • Experts flay new aviation regulation policy

    Experts flay new aviation regulation policy

    Aviation experts have criticised the new policy by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Policy ( NCAP), especially the proposed creation of a regulator for the aviation sector.

    According to experts, giving the functions of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to another body could bring about some infraction on air safety as experience has shown in other countries, including the United Kingdom.

    The experts are a pilot, Captain Dung Pam, who is Chairman, Nigerian Aviation Safety a initiative (NASI), and Mr Olumide Ohunayo, an aviation analyst, Head of Strategy, Zenith Travels.They spoke in separate interviews in Lagos.

    Capt Pam said withdrawing the functions of NCAA, and giving them to another body could lead a communication gap in the industry.

    “The outcome will dilute the effectiveness of the NCAA in performing its statutory functions with regards to aviation safety, consumer protection and anti-trust matters.

    “The prevalence of issues, such as abuse of market dominance, predatory pricing, unreasonable discrimination between classes of users, allegations of monumental fraud, in FAAN, NAMA, NIMET, are clear indications that the industry in Nigeria is suffering the consequences of loss of economic efficiency” he said.

    Also, Ohunayo said: ”Some aspects of the policy need to be reviewed, an independent search and rescue agency with offices in the six geo-political zones will only over burden the system with attendant cost implication.

    “Why do we want to protect a new group of private investors at the expense of investors using the banner of a national carrier?

    “The government is starting another flag carrier not national, so the carrier should be free to compete rather than seek government protection.

    “ The same protection Virgin Nigeria signed with the government only to repudiate to the consternation of the investors.

    “Also, the Fly Nigeria Act that would have aided our commercial airlines was again bypassed by the policy, a phased implementation starting with charter flights and some regional routes would have been appropriate.”

  • ‘Permits for aircraft should not be politicised’

    THE Director-General (DG) designate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Folayele Akinkuotu, has said permits for aircraft to operate in the country should be based on professionalism and not on political consideration.

    Akinkuotu spoke at a screening by the Senate Committee on Aviation in Abuja.

    He said: “Permits for aircraft should not be for political reasons. They must be based on professionalism.”

    He noted that if safety must be guaranteed in the nation’s airspace, aviation regulators must ensure that everyone plays according to the rules and in line with international standards.

    The DG nominee condemned the use of private airplanes for commercial purposes.

    He said the use of private aircraft for commerce was fraudulent and advocated sanctions for defaulters.

    To get things right in the industry, Akinkuotu said right persons must be recruited as instructors.

    He stated that 60 per cent of air crashes result from human error.

    He noted that the most critical aspect of air safety was that relevant government agencies must insist on qualified technical personnel, surveillance, compliance and enforcement.

    On revenue generation for NCAA, he suggested that there must be a system in place where money was taken at source on behalf of the agency and not left in the hands of third parties.

    He said he was informed that NCAA was being owed N11 billion, noting that if money is taken at source, the problem would then be solved.

    He said: “We should capture the money at source as airlines pay electronically.”

    Akinkuotu promised to improve on the achievements of his predeccessor, Dr. Harold Demuren, if cleared.

    He said he would do his best to ensure that things work in the agency.

    He added: “If we take care of little things, big things will not happen.”

  • NCAA certifies private security outfits

    NCAA certifies private security outfits

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority NCAA) has certified seven private security companies to provide security services at the nation’s airports.

    The companies are – Aviation Logistics and Management Limited, Olasco Company Nigeria Limited, Pathfinders International Security Limited, Planet Resources Limited. Others are Migga Dinns Limited, Checkport Security Nigeria Limited and Phillippe Associates International Limited.

    In a brief ceremony in Lagos, the Acting Director-General Mr Joyce Daniel Nkemakolam, presented certificates to the chief executives of the companies.

    Speaking before the ceremony, Nkemakolam told the security operatives that safety and security are critical to air transport operation all over the world.

    He said: “This is the time you need to deploy your expertise as you are all aware of the global security threat of which Nigeria is not an exemption.”

    Nkemakolam commended the security organisations for pulling through the rigorous process of certification, which was carried out by NCAA Aviation Security Inspectors.

    He told the companies that it is mandatory under the Nigerian Legislation and the terms of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme (NCASP) section 10.9.1 for private security companies working with airlines to be registered and granted approval by NCAA.

    He said: “It requires each security company to obtain security clearance from the state security service through the Federal Ministry of Aviation. Thereafter they will submit a copy of their security programme to NCAA for assessment.

     

    This assessment is to further ensure the companies meet with the requirements of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme (NCASP), which reflects the policy of Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations Part 17.”

    Nkemakolam expressed excitement that the seven private security companies complied with the requirements

    He said the NCAA found their security programmes to be appropriate after its assessment.

    He said :” The certification is the beginning of hard work for all of you. You must ensure compliance with the condition attached to this approval, failure of which will lead to revocation or suspension of the certificate.”

     

  • NCAA insists on sanction for owners of grounded aircraft

    NCAA insists on sanction for owners of grounded aircraft

    THREE days after it grounded a Bombardier – BD 700 Global Express aircraft marked N565RS, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday said the aircraft would be penalised for gross violation of civil aviation regulations.

    Acting NCAA Director-General Mr Joyce Nkemakolam said yesterday in a telephone chat that owners of the aircraft would be fined.

    Nkemakolam said the fine would be determined by the regulatory body.

    He said: “It would be in monetary terms. We would calculate it. The fine to be paid by the owners of the aircraft would be calculated after aviation officials have concluded series of meetings in Abuja and Lagos on what the regulations stipulate as offence for the such violation.”

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday stuck to its earlier allegation that the aircraft has been flying illegally.

    Speaking on a television programme monitored in Lagos, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr Yakubu Dati, said the aircraft had been operating illegally since the expiration of its approved flight clearance on April 2.

    He insisted that going by the record available to aviation authorities; the last flight clearance for the aircraft was approved on March 28 on Accra/Port Harcourt and Accra route to terminate on April 2.

    With this development, the aircraft has exceeded the extra two days or 48 hours leeway for it to leave the country.

    To buttress his point, Dati said that if an Embassy issues a tourist or student visa to a person, when the visa expires, the person holding the visa is staying in the country illegally.

    On who owns the aircraft, Dati said: “The owner of this aircraft, according to the certificate of registration, is Bank of Utah Trustees of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America (USA). The clearance for the aircraft was sought by Caverton Helicopters on March 27, 2013.”

    He wondered why people continued to name the Rivers State Government as its owner.

    “It is very sad that when we try to do our job people bring in politics into it. It is very sad. We have the facts, we have the records. We don’t even have Rivers State in all our documentation,”he said.

    But, in a swift reaction, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the government followed the due processes.

    She said all agencies knew the aircraft belongs to the government of Rivers State.

    On whether the airplane was operating illegally in Nigeria, Mrs. Semenitari, said the claim may not be correct.

    She, however, said the state was “not interested in joining issues with aviation authorities, but only state the facts as they are, insisting that the government complied with all the directives as outlined by the ministry of aviation and other agencies.”

    On whether the pilot submitted a flight plan when the plane landed in Akure, the commissioner said: “He did file a manifest. We cannot be irresponsible, as I continue to maintain.

    “This is not the first time we are flying. There is no way we are going to fly without doing the right thing. Filing the manifest is procedural and every pilot knows that.”

  • NCAA: grounded plane isn’t Rivers’

    NCAA: grounded plane isn’t Rivers’

    The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said yesterday that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding how the aircraft, which flew House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and others on Sunday overstayed in Nigeria without applying for extension of permit.

    The NCAA said it was already investigating the number of flights the aircraft embarked on within the country after the expiration of its permit to enable its legal and technical units work out the sanctions to be paid by the owners of the aircraft.

    Speaking yesterday in a telephone interview, the director of airworthiness standards of NCAA, Mr. Benedict Oluwole Adeyileka, an engineer, said the owners of the aircraft would have to apply for permit to enable them fly it out of the country, even as he described failure by the managers of the aircraft to embark on flights outside the approved time as a serious infraction on civil aviation rules.

    Adeyileka said it was wrong for a foreign registered aircraft to fly into the country and embark on domestic shuttles without notifying the aeronautical authorities the airports it intends to fly into.

    He said :” There will be sanction for the owners and operators of the aircraft. We need to make it clear that the aircraft does not belong to Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State; the aircraft was brought into Nigeria by Caverton Helicopters.

    The authorities were not informed that it was being operated by the Rivers State Government. The owners are the Bank of Salt Lake City , Utah in the United States (U.S.) .

    “We will meet at the NCAA today and work out the sanction after we have considered all legal angles to establish how many flights the aircraft carried out after the initial permit granted it expired.

    It is clear from our investigations that the aircraft after the expiration of the permit flew to airports beyond Owerri and Akure that were not captured in the documentation they submitted while coming into the country.

    “We will need to get to the root of the matter”.

    Asked why the NCAA did not inform the aircraft operators that its permit had expired, Adeyileka said: “It is not the responsibility of NCAA to remind them that their permit has expired.

    “It is irrelevant to the NCAA, which passengers were on board. If the operators of the aircraft need clearance, if they apply, we will grant them, but in this case, they did not follow the procedure required by civil aviation laws.

    Between March 23, and April 2, when the aircraft applied to be in the country, the crew or operator did not inform of any possibility to apply for extension.”

    The NCAA director said the aircraft posed no security risk in Nigeria.

    He said the owners of the aircraft also did not state that it would be operated by the Rivers State Government.

    He said :” It is not a security risk. The owners of the aircraft did not state that the aircraft will be operated by the Rivers State Government. On the list of passengers on the flight, the crew only put on the manifest one Rotimi Amaechi; they did not give the full details of the personality. Whereas our investigations reveal that there were 16 passengers on board. Apart from the itinerary that the crew indicated when the aircraft arrived in Nigeria, it embarked on other flights, which presents a scenario of inconsistency.

    “In all, the aircraft overstayed without permit. We will sanction them. We will do this by looking at the number of flights done. This will be done after we have considered all legal issues before the sanction will be rolled out.

    The owners of the aircraft did not comply with operational procedure . Our investigation will purely be technical.”

    The acting Director-General of NCAA, Mr Joyce Nkemakolam, corroborated the account of the director of Airworthiness. He said: “The owners of the aircraft will be sanctioned over expired papers – in line with statutory regulations. We will write them to inform them of the default.”

  • Amaechi’s plane barred from flying

    Amaechi’s plane barred from flying

    • NCAA says documents expired April 2, 2013

    • There’s more to grounding of my aircraft –Governor

    • NAMA insists absence of manifest caused Akure airport delay

    The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday ordered Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s controversial aircraft off the country’s air space.

    The aircraft is said to be operating illegally with expired documents.

    The no-fly order came 24 hours after the Bombardier -BD 700, Global Express aircraft with registration number N565RS was grounded for two hours at the Akure Airport in Ondo State because its pilot failed to produce the manifest.

    The story, however, changed last night with the Director, Airworthiness Standards, Benedict Adeyileka, saying the plane’s clearance approval expired on April 2, 2013.

    He spoke to reporters just hours after Governor Amaechi insinuated that the grounding of his plane at the Akure Airport on Friday had political undertones, a veiled reference to the ongoing cold war between him and the Presidency over the 2015 presidential race.

    The National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in a separate statement yesterday restated its position that the refusal of the pilot to submit the passengers manifest as required by the new safety regulations caused the Akure Airport saga.

    It said, contrary to reports, the plane was given clearance to fly within 10 minutes of seeking approval.

    The governor’s office dismissed the agency’s position as a cock and bull story, blatant lie and monumental embarrassment.

    Adeyileka, at the press conference, said the plane had been sighted flying in and out of several places including Owerri and Akure with expired documents.

    He said:”The controversial aircraft on the service of Governor Rotimi Amaechi is operating illegally in the country. By our records the last flight clearance for this aircraft was approved for operations on Thursday, March 28, 2013 on Accra/Port Harcourt and Accra to terminate on April 2, 2013. With this development, the aircraft has exceeded the extra two days or 48 hours leeway for it to leave the country.

    “While still operating illegally, the aircraft has been sighted in several places, including Owerri and Akure, the owner of this aircraft according to the certificate of registration is Bank of Utah Trustees of Salt Lake City, Utah United States of America.

    “The clearance for the aircraft was sought by Caverton Helicopters on March 27,2013.NCAA did not ground the aircraft prior to request for start up in Akure on Friday 26, April 2013.Consequently, this aircraft in reference is hereby grounded at any airport that is located right now in the country.”

    Prior to the ban order, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, had, in a statement in Port Harcourt, said the Friday action of NAMA was premeditated.

    His words: “We had set out from Abuja in the morning of Friday April 26, 2013 to Imo State to attend the funeral rites of the younger sister of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Emeka Ihedioha. Our plane, a Bombardier jet owned by the Rivers State Government, landed at the airport in Owerri. It was in Owerri that the pilot of our plane was first tipped off that there was a plot to ground our plane in Owerri that Friday.

    “Fortunately for us, we took off from Owerri airport and arrived at Akure airport en-route to Ekiti for the burial of the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka without any incident. On the flight to Akure was the Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal who we met in Imo State and was also heading to Ekiti for the burial of Mrs Olayinka. Also on the flight were the Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Director-General Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Asishana Bayo Okauru, Kalabari prince and politician Prince Tonye Princewill, some aides of the Governor and me.

    “Once our party left the Akure airport for Ekiti, our pilot went to the airport offices to make statutory airport payments and fees, file his flight plan and declare his manifest. After filing his fight plan and declaring his manifest, our pilot was told to go and see the Controller. The Controller bluntly told him that the Rivers Government plane would not be allowed to leave the airport. In other words, the plane had been grounded! He said that the plane should have been grounded in Owerri. The Controller on duty at the airport in Akure mentioned some vague issues relating to the customs papers of the plane, which has been flying in Nigeria for many months? That didn’t make any sense to the pilot. He enquired on whose orders the plane was being grounded, he was told that it was the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA). And that he should reach the NAMA MD.

    “By the time our party, which now included four House of Representatives members- Mohammed Sani Idris Kutigi, Daniel Rayeineju, Idris Ahmed Wase and Ifedayo Abegunde- returned to the Akure airport, there was confusion everywhere. Speaker Tambuwal, the members and Governor Amaechi and his team, were all stranded at the airport. The plane that brought Speaker Tambuwal and Governor Amaechi to Akure could not leave Akure airport. Calls were being made as these two democratically elected leaders, furious and perplexed, tried to fathom what could have caused this monumental embarrassment to them and their offices.

    “After trying fruitlessly for some time to get the plane released, Speaker Tambuwal then offered to fly Governor Amaechi to Port Harcourt with the plane(another small aircraft) that brought the other four Honourable members to Akure. To accommodate Governor Amaechi in the small aircraft, one of the House of Representatives members offered his seat to the Governor .

    “The pilot of the Rivers State Government plane was already locking up the aircraft for us to leave for Lagos by road when a call eventually came through that the plane could now leave. The Controller received a directive to allow the plane fly out of Akure. The decision to let us go, we later learnt, was due to the pressure brought on the aviation authorities by Speaker Tambuwal.

    “It is indeed most shameful and ludicrous that NAMA and the Aviation authorities are now saying that they grounded the Rivers State Government plane because the pilot did not file a flight plan and declare a manifest. That’s a blatant lie. A big fat one at that. The pilot filed the flight plan and manifest, and paid all the statutory airport fees and charges shortly after the plane arrived at the Akure airport in the afternoon. If the pilot filed a flight plan and manifest at the airports in Abuja and Owerri, where he flew from same day, why won’t he then do the same in Akure? It is instructive to note that all through the traumatic time we spent in Akure, no official of the airport or aviation staff came to tell Governor Amaechi that we were grounded because our pilot “refused to file a flight plan and manifest.” All they kept saying was that they were just obeying directives, it was beyond them and we should call Abuja. Speaker Tambuwal and the other four members of the House of Representatives are living witnesses to that charade.

    “NAMA and the aviation authorities should explain to Nigerians why an aircraft owned by a State government, that flew the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and a democratically elected Governor of a State who also the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, would be grounded at an airport for no just cause? “ Iyofor, contacted last night to react to the no fly order said there was nothing new to say for now.

    However, NAMA in a statement gave its own side of the story and insisted that it was only enforcing the regulations on air safety.

    According to the Managing Director, Nnamdi Udoh, the plane was delayed by the failure of the crew to submit declaration including passengers’ manifest.

    This, he said, is part of the mandatory requirement for operators of non scheduled flight including charter operations.

    He explained that for the Akure Airport, which operates only during day time, there are restrictions on operations that extend beyond the approved time, which would require approval from authorities concerned.

    The NAMA boss said:” You are all aware of the incident involving the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi alleging that his aircraft was grounded to take from the airport in reference.

    “The aircraft the governor came with is with registration number 5N565RS- Global Express. The pilot called for air traffic controllers clearance at 6.35 pm, he got clearance same time and started taxing by 6.45 pm and departed 6.51 pm.

    “By regulations the manager has no power of to clear any aircraft at this period, except an approval given from the authorities concerned.

    “After due clearance and the provision of the needed logistics, the aircraft in reference was cleared for take- off.

    “But, we need to stress this that we operate by rules and regulations .

    “Aviation is not political and we do not play politics in this industry . We appeal that pilots and operators should comply with the operating rules at all the airports in the country.”

  • NCAA gives domestic operators deadline

    NCAA gives domestic operators deadline

    omestic airline operators have been given a two-week deadline to automate their operations to ensure data capture for billing in the authority’s revenue collection.

    The Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Joyce Daniel Nkemakolam, gave the directive at a meeting in Lagos last week. He warned charter operators against non-compliance.

    Nkemakolam has also read the riot act to foreign airlines, for their inability to comply with the new revenue automation regime of the regulatory authority.

    According to NCAA’s regulations on revenue collection, the operating airlines are to forward data at the end of every flight to the regulatory authority at the shortest possible time.

    These data are forwarded using NCAA’s AVITECH, Aviation Technology, the contracting firm handling the automation Portal, for easy and transparent transaction to facilitate appropriate billing for the Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sales Charge (TSC and CSC).

    The data required by NCAA/AVITECH for billing covers the following: Flight number, flight date, ticket number, ticket class, flight route, originating country, currency of sale, basic fare, security tax, airport tax, total fare and rate of exchange.

     

     

     

  • Dana Air suspended

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the operating license of Dana Air.

    The airline said in a statement on Sunday that it did not know the reason for the suspension.

    It resumed flying in September last year after the crash in June in  Lagos in which 153 person on board and 10 others on the ground were died.