DG NCAA harps on financial stability of airlines as key to safety
The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu has stressed the importance of the financial stability of airlines as fundamental to their adherence to safety recommendations.
In a recent interview with aviation correspondents in Lagos, Nuhu said the agency is doing its best to ensure that the airlines comply with safety regulations, especially in the air and at the airports.
The DG disclosed that it was on financial grounds that Aero Contractors and Dana Air were stopped from daily flight operations.
He noted that while Dana Air’s AOC was withdrawn to allow for a financial audit, Aero was only advised to suspend operations and work on its financial sustainability by having a serviceable fleet.
“Aero Contractors was not grounded based on safety issues, we did an audit of them because whatever audit you do, you have findings and they were all minor findings. There were no Level 1, 2, or 3 findings. They were very insignificant. We notified them. We audited them and found out that their issue was financial sustainability.
“Aviation is safety sensitive and whenever you have financial difficulty. It is just a matter of time, you will not be able to comply with all the regulatory requirements and some may start cutting corners. So, before the financial issue becomes a safety issue, we had a discussion with them and they on their own, before we took any action, agreed with our findings and suspended their operations to enable them to reorganise and get some funding to get more equipment.
“That is what they have done, we sat with them, they submitted, we asked for projection, which they did, and we reviewed. The first one wasn’t good enough, they had to go and review it and it was quite satisfactory. We had MoU with them for payment of the outstanding 5 per cent on the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC).
As a mandate, Nuhu assured that the agency will continue to ensure that the airlines comply with all safety recommendations in order to keep the industry free of incidents and serious accidents.
“We are doing our best to ensure continuous safety in the air and compliance with all our regulations and recommended practices. We work together with the industry to see how we can assist, and help the industry, but the truth of the matter is that the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic not only put the airlines in a difficult situation but exposed a lot of fractions within the system. A lot of airlines didn’t globally survive Covid-19 and some are still being affected by the impact of Covid-19.
“When we thought we were recovering, then we had issues with foreign exchange, and the Jet A1 crisis, which further put the industry in a very difficult situation. They are trying under difficult circumstances and that increases our workload to continue the surveillance to ensure that safety margins are adhered to and we are getting there,” said Nuhu.
As the Yuletide approaches, the DG advised the airlines to put measures in place to manage the anticipated traffic surge, adding that navigation facilities were being calibrated to ensure there would be minimal or no disruptions.
“There is always a rush for the travelling public in December. It is the airlines that will put measures in place and the airport operators and we ensure that proper mitigating measures are put in place for facility operations during the yuletide period.
“As far as the issue of navigation facilities is concerned. Calibration has just started to ensure that they are all in top shape so that when inclement weather comes in, flights can operate with minimum disruption,” said Nuhu
The DG, however, noted that there could be unavoidable disruptions with regard to cancellations and delays for safety reasons.
He called for patience and understanding of the travelling public during the period.
“Flight cancellations can come for many reasons. I am not making excuses for any operator; sometimes, you have a technical problem, weather and other disruptions that affect the flight schedules and sometimes, the airlines too, their planning is not the best. So, we work with everybody. It is not just the airlines; the airlines are part of the eco-system in the airport. Whenever we have the yuletide, we are going to have a surge in passenger traffic that may be beyond the terminal capacity.
“That one also has an impact on the departure of an airline. Sometimes, the handlers are overloaded because of the loads. It will have an impact on the plan of the airlines. So, we are doing our best to mitigate the challenges,” said Nuhu.
