“Nigeria not Banned:” NCAA Clarifies Delisting of Nigerian Airlines by US Government
- The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said that Nigeria was not delisted from US Category One status due to security concerns
- The NCAA said the delisting is because no Nigerian airline currently provides direct flights to the US
- The agency disclosed that Nigerian airlines can still operate the US route using a wet lease arrangement
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Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has explained why the US government delisted Nigerian airlines from their Category One status via the United States Aviation Administration (FAA).
A statement by the Acting Director General of NCCA, Chris Najomo, said that Nigeria was delisted because no Nigerian airline currently provides flight services to the US.
Source: Getty Images
No Nigerian airlines flies to the US
Arik Air was the last airline to provide direct flights to New York, which was later suspended on February 3, 2017.
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The NCAA statement disclosed that in September 2022, the US aviation authorities began delisting Category One countries, and no US airline has provided flights to the US or carried the code of a US operator in two years.
According to reports, countries needing more technical assistance from the FAA due to non-compliance with international safety oversight standards were also delisted.
Nigerian airlines can still operate a US route
The NCAA spokesperson said Nigeria’s delisting had nothing to do with safety or security issues in the country’s oversight system.
Najomo said Nigeria had successfully undergone a comprehensive audit by the International Aviation Organisation (ICAO) without any safety or security challenges.
He noted that Nigerian operators could still operate flights to the US using aircraft wet-leased from a country with a current Category One status.
Najomo stressed that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has begun an intense international campaign to enable local operators to access the dry lease market globally.
The initiative includes visits to Airbus in France and a recent MoU signed with Boeing in the US.
Delta Airlines begins direct flights to Nigeria
He expressed optimism that the minister’s efforts would return Nigeria to Category One status and sustain it.
The development follows the resumption of direct flights by Delta Airlines to Nigeria.
Delta Airlines revealed plans for a significant expansion, reintroducing daily flights to Lagos, Nigeria, from New York-JFK starting December 1.
Additionally, the airline is upgrading its fleet to serve Accra, Ghana (ACC), and South Africa.
These developments were disclosed in a circular distributed to journalists on Friday, April 27, 2024.
It should be recalled that the airline earlier reported another round of solid earnings, forecasting a record second quarter based on a consistently strong travel appetite.
This is after it saw its profits double in the fourth quarter last year, helped by strong travel demand, even as it trimmed its earnings expectations for 2024.
Air Peace to begin direct flights to the US
Also, Air Peace's chief executive officer, Allen Onyema, has stated that the airline is willing to add more flights to the seven daily flights that it currently operates from Nigeria to Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom.
He said that Air Peace has set its sights on growing its global reach, especially with plans to start operating flights from Abuja to New York and Houston by the end of 2024.
In addition, Onyema disclosed the airline's desire to purchase more planes to fund its aggressive growth strategies, including acquiring three Boeing 777s for prospective lines to Houston and New York.
Nigerian Airline suspends flight operations
Legit.ng earlier reported that Delta Airlines has halted all of its flight operations due to a technological issue.
The airline said all Delta flights have been halted until a vendor technical problem is resolved.
According to the airline, passengers whose flights are affected will get notifications from Delta via text message and the Fly Delta app.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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Source: Legit.ng
