The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu has said that the suspension of Azman Air was not punitive but to prevent a possible air crash, as the major objective of the agency is to ensure safe flight operations.
Nuhu who called for the review of existing aviation policies to separate general aviation from scheduled flight service, expressed hope that Azman Air would soon resume flights because it is determined to execute all the recommendations given it by the regulatory authority so that all the identified gaps in its operations would be closed.
The Director General who made this known when he fielded questions from journalists in Lagos at the weekend, said NCAA takes safety issues seriously because it is the priority of the agency, noting that before it takes any major decision it must conduct investigation or observation before reaching conclusion.
“Well as a regulatory body, we take the issue of safety seriously. That is our number one priority, including safe operation of our airlines, or any operator. However, before we take action, we must have concrete evidence. We must have a trend. We see what is happening and we do a risk-based analysis and we decide to take action. This is because grounding an airline has serious repercussions, both on the availability of service to the public and also to the finances and reputation of the airline. I don’t think we were slow in suspending the airline.
“When we reached a point that we were not happy, we called a Zoom meeting. I could have taken the decision on my own, but I am a human being and I know I have my shortcomings. So, I called my entire team. We had a Zoom meeting for about four to five hours before we came to that decision to suspend their operations. I want to say here clearly that it is not a punitive measure. It is our responsibility and duty to guide and work with the operators and assist them to ensure that they are in compliance with our regulations,” Nuhu said.
H said the airline is doing well, striving to meet the requirements issued by NCAA as condition for it to return to the skies again.
“I must tell you the response we had from Azman Air has been very encouraging and very positive. They are taking all what we have explained to them. Now they understand it is even better for them to improve their business model. I have seen a shift and I can guarantee you that by the time Azman complies with all what we want, the public will see a different Azman airline.
“That is our purpose. We are not here to kill anybody or to ruin any airline, but to guide them to operate safely, efficiently and to provide the necessary services to the travelling public. I just received a very impressive response from them concerning what they have done. We are going to start serious training for their people next week. They have already started employing people and they are really working and cooperating. Honestly, I am very happy and feel very relieved at their response to us,” Nuhu also said.
Meanwhile, the Director General said that there should be a need for General Aviation to be separated from Scheduled Flight operations, noting that same policies should not guide the two divisions of flight services.
According to him, if separate policies aimed at developing General Aviation is passed into law it would help to develop the sub-sector, create more jobs for pilots and others in the industry.
“As regards the promotion of general aviation policy, we have the Civil Aviation Act before the National Assembly. Hopefully, it will be passed very soon and passed into law. So, once that is done, and we know what the new NCAA mandate is, we will do a stakeholders meeting for review of our regulations. I think we need to de-cluster and unbundle our regulations so that the requirements for General Aviation is different from the requirements of the airlines. They are not the same risk. So, we need to unbundle those regulations, General Aviation could be Chartered flights, agric spraying, small tourism aircraft, ambulance and others.
“There are so many areas of general aviation, but right now, regulations are bundled, somebody flying corporate and small plane carrying 10 people and you are asking for the same requirements from a Boeing 777 going to Dubai. It doesn’t make sense,” he added.
The Director General said that Nigerian air travel market is not yet developed that with good policies and dynamic regulatory environment, more Nigerians would travel by air, adding that forex challenges has reduced the number of aircraft in operation because the airlines cannot bring back their aircraft ferried overseas for maintenance.
He canvassed for support to the federal government, which intends to establish Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Nigeria, noting that when completed it would save million of dollars for airlines in foreign exchange and the facility would create hundreds of jobs.
THISDAY
