The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has been barking for some time. Now, it has shown that it is also capable of biting by suspending the operations of one of the country’s airlines, FirstNation Airways, over its illegal commercial operations in the country. In a letter to the airline, dated May 11, 2018, the apex aviation regulatory body said it was withdrawing the Air Operating Certificate, AOC, of the airline indefinitely.
The NCAA said the suspension was sequel to “the flagrant and continuous violation of the terms and conditions of issuance of FirstNation Airway’s AOC which engaged in unauthorised and illegal operations.
The troubled airline’s scope of operations was last year downgraded by the NCAA over its consistent use of just one aircraft, contrary to at least two airplanes mandated by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations. The downgrading restricted the airline to chartered operations only, pending an improvement in its capacity for scheduled services.
The NCAA explained last Tuesday that when the AOC of FirstNation Airways expired, the airline did not have at least two airworthy aircraft capable of servicing its approved schedule as required by Part 9.1.1.6 (b) (2) (ii) of Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation 2015.
Consequently, the airline’s AOC was, upon renewal, restricted to non-scheduled operation, (charter) only. A spokesperson for the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, said the airline, however, continued to embark on scheduled operations with advertisement of its services and sold tickets at its Check-in counters in Lagos and Abuja Airports, contrary to the regulations.
