The Federal Government of Nigeria has clarified that no ban has been placed on any Nigerian airline by the US government.
The acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo, made this disclosure in a statement on Monday.
Najomo explained that in 2010, Nigeria attained the permit of Category One of the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. However, due to the country’s inability to meet the requirements of the permit, Nigeria was delisted in 2022.
“It is important to clarify that the delisting of Nigeria has absolutely nothing to do with any safety or security deficiency in our oversight system,” he said.
He added, “Nigeria has undergone comprehensive ICAO Safety and Security Audits and recorded no Significant Safety Concern (SSC) or Significant Security Concern (SSeC), respectively.”
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Regarding the ability of Nigerian airlines to operate in the US, the NCAA said, “A Nigerian operator can still operate in the US using an aircraft wet-leased from a country with a current Category One status.”
The agency emphasized that the delisting of Nigeria has nothing to do with security or safety deficiencies in the NCAA’s oversight system.
The statement further clarified that the US government’s decision in 2022 was due to the fact that no Nigerian airline fulfilled the criteria of providing services to the United States or carrying the airline code as a US operator.
