Chris Najomo, acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), issued a statement clarifying the situation.

Najomo explained that while Nigeria was granted Category One status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program in 2010, it was re-evaluated and passed the US Federal Aviation Administration’s assessments in 2014 and 2017.

However, Nigeria was de-listed in 2022 due to failure to meet certain permit requirements.

He emphasized that this de-listing does not indicate any safety or security deficiencies within Nigeria’s oversight system, noting that comprehensive ICAO Safety and Security Audits have found no Significant Safety Concern (SSC) or Significant Security Concern (SSeC).

Najomo also pointed out that Nigerian operators can still access US markets through aircraft wet-leased from countries with current Category One status.

The statement clarified that the inability of Nigerian airlines to meet specific requirements for direct service to the US led to the de-listing, not issues related to safety or security.

It reaffirmed the NCAA’s commitment to adhering to international safety and security standards while respecting national sovereignty over airspace.

The Minister emphasized that the government is dedicated to assisting domestic airlines in their international endeavors and will respond to any challenges that hinder their operations on any route.

The Minister revealed this information in an interview he participated in at the inaugural event for the Air Peace Lagos-London flight over the weekend.

He mentioned that enabling Nigerian airlines to easily access long-term leasing and reducing the cost of aircraft insurance were critical performance measures for his Ministry. These KPIs aim to assist domestic airlines and prevent the exploitation of Nigerian travelers by foreign carriers.

“This is very significant, because it is has been very difficult for our local operators to service international routes and to take advantage of our Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs), which give reciprocal rights to our local airlines,” he said.

He detailed that the formation of BASAs is grounded on the concept of mutual benefit, where airlines from one country are permitted to operate flights to another country, while reciprocally allowing airlines from the latter country to do the same, emphasizing that the flight arrangements are mutually agreed upon within the BASA.

“What BASAs normally say is that when you have 14 slots into my country, they also give you 14 slots into their country. But there is politics of BASAs also because after giving you the 14 slots into their country, in most cases they play politics with it in such a way that they frustrate your own airlines from being able to take advantage of that.

“But beyond that too, our local operators are handicapped because they don’t have access to aircraft that international airlines have on the same terms. For example, the terms upon which they lease these aircraft. There is no airline in the world that buy their fleet 100 percent. It is not possible.

“Statistics says that out of a 100 aircraft flying around the world, about 70 percent of those aircraft are on dry lease from leasing companies and from aircraft manufacturers. So, why can’t we take advantage of these lease arrangements to empower our local operators. And that is the key to also servicing these international routes because you cannot compete with someone who has access to aircraft on better terms than you,” he said.

The airlines operator issued the threat to go on strike by Friday this week,  as a result of the high cost of aviation fuel ( Jet – A1).

The Senator Smart Adeyemi, All Progressives Congress, APC, Kogi West led Senate Committee on Aviation, however in an emergency meeting yesterday has pleaded  with the Operators to reconsider their decision.

But the operators led by their Chairman, Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa during the meeting yesterday with the Senate Committee on Aviation, reiterated that they would go on strike if nothing is done to save the stressful situation, Airline Operators will withdraw their services by Friday morning.

Alhaji Yunusa who spoke along with the Chairman, United Nigeria Airline,  Mr Obiora Okonkwo who noted that they cannot cope with the high cost of operation worsened by an upsurge in the price of Aviation fuel said, “based on the cost component of Airline operation in Nigeria today, the actual price for the ticket of one hour flight is N150,000 which is being subsidised to N50,000 per passenger.

“We are not sure yet that we would not carry out our plans to shut down operations on Friday because up till now the marketers have not started selling fuel at N500.

“They are still selling at N670 and we cannot continue to subsidise because doing so would make us run out of business.

“We are overburdened by this ticket subsidy and heavily indebted to Banks with consequences of running out of business if required actions are not taken.”

On his part, Senator Adeyemi who appealed to the Airline Operators to give the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly a few days to wade into the matter through interface with the Federal Government,  said that the issue will be raised on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Wednesday for the purposes of making the Federal Government give the operators, expected bailout.

Adeyemi said, “Your threat to stop flying from Friday this week, is too tough an order. Aviation is life and there is no way the Senate and government generally will allow such to happen.

“Your complaints are genuine and will surely be looked into. The Senate would intervene to ensure that the airline operators carry out their activities with minimal pain.

“The senate president and all senators are very worried by the threat from the operators and the Senate would not keep quiet over the matter.

“We would ensure that the executive does the needful to release bailout to the airline operators it pays all of us to make the aviation fuel very robust.

“Please give us some time for the Senate to see what we can achieve. So we want you to extend your ultimatum to the down tool. Er, would ensure that you get the required palliative so that there won’t be a crisis.”

Also at the meeting were representatives of the Director-General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA), Captain Chris Najomo, Secretary Airline Operators, Mr Zamani Solomon etc.

The Minister disclosed this at a webinar attended by stakeholders in the aviation sector,  which focuses on the status of the industry restart.

Sirika, while responding to a question from the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi, who wondered if social distancing would affect the prices of airfares, said total social distancing was impossible to attain in the airplanes.

In his words: “The person sitting beside or behind you is not two meters away from you.

“When people say they would block one seat between passengers, what of the guy behind you and the one in front of you? The guy in front of you is in danger, should you sneeze or cough, you are actually coughing over his head.

“ It is very difficult to achieve because it means you have to take a sit on my left, right in front and behind to achieve at least 0.5 meters.”

The Minister, further argued that “To achieve that you are saying 30 or 40 per cent capacity should be allowed. I think we should research more between today and over the weekend to come up with something that we can announce soon.

“I cannot see us achieving physical distancing within the airplane and make money.”

He challenged stakeholders to come up with some ingenious way of achieving safety within the cabin rather than physical distancing.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole has assured that the Hajj operations this year would be hitch-free.

He stated that Medview Airline was strongly aware of the challenges confronting the aviation industry in Nigeria. Bankole added that, “no carrier is singled out from the hardship bedeviling the whole nation.”

He also stated that Medview was going on a re-fleeting program, in a bid to reposition the airline for better performance

Bankole added that some of the aircraft that were sent for scheduled maintenance will soon arrive to increase capacity. “There are also ongoing discussions with strategic partners to pull resources together towards operational enhancement and capacity building.”

Bankole also re-assured the airline’s shareholders, service providers and travel partners of better deals and value for their investments.