NCAA Revokes Certificates Of Three Ailing Airlines
Hopes of three of Nigerian airlines which ceased operations last year to return to the sky may have been dashed, as their Air Operator Certificate (AOC) expired yesterday and as such, may begin afresh the process of renewing their certificates, which may take two to three years.
Consequently, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), yesterday invited Bellview and Afrijet and Capital Airlines to a closed door meeting presided over by the Director-General of NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, who was represented by the Director of Airworthiness, Patrick Ekunwen.
Ekunwen, at the meeting, communicated to them the revocation of their certificates, which he said, was in line with the regulatory body's guidelines for efficient and safe air transport system, which requires the NCAA to revoke their AOC after they might have failed to bounce back from their problem within 60 days.
A source, who was at the meeting held in Lagos, said that the management of the airlines accepted the decision of the NCAA until they are ready to come back to operation.
Efforts by The Guardian to reach any of the affected operators proved abortive, as their telephones were switched off.
But a former top official of Afrijet Airlines, Alhaji Muhammed Tukur, said the action of the NCAA was in line with stipulated procedure, stressing that, "the affected airlines have the opportunity of coming back to operation if they put their house in order".
Bellview Airlines ceased operations in November 2009, after the carrier allegedly could not fulfill its obligation to airlift passengers to their destinations following dearth of aircraft, and inability to get aircraft from leasing firms.
Its passengers were stranded across airports in different countries, thereby leading to protests.
Afrijet, on the other hand, could not pay its workers, airport charges and other sundry bills. The airline had since November last year operation, just as Capital Airlines is faced with almost similar issue.
Airlines dread the withdrawal of their AOCs', because of the stress in reapplying for same, which could take minimum of two years.
An (AOC) is the approval granted by the Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA's) to an aircraft operator to allow it use aircraft for commercial purposes.
This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and system in place to ensure the safety of their employees and the general public. The AOC lists the aircraft types and registrations to be used, for what purpose and in what area, specific airports or geographic region.
The requirements for obtaining an AOC vary from country to country, but to qualify for one, airlines are expected to have: sufficient personnel with the required experience for the type of operations requested, airworthy aircraft, suitable for the type of operations requested; acceptable systems for the training of crew and the operation of the aircraft (Operations Manual), a quality system to ensure that all applicable regulations are followed; the appointment of key accountable staff, who are responsible for specific safety critical functions such as training, maintenance and operations; sufficient insurance to cover the injury or death of any passenger carried. Proof that the operator has sufficient finances to fund the operation; and sufficient ground infrastructure, or arrangements for the supply of sufficient infrastructure, to support its operations into the ports requested.
Source: ngrguardiannews.com
