The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has refuted recent media claims that Nigerian airlines have been prohibited from operating flights to the United States by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In an official statement signed by the Acting Director General, Captain Chris Najomo, the NCAA emphasised that the removal of Nigeria from a particular FAA list has no connection with any deficiencies in the country’s aviation safety or oversight systems.
Captain Najomo explained that Nigeria, like other countries, undergoes comprehensive safety and security audits conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). These audits have not raised any Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) or Significant Security Concerns (SSeC) for Nigeria. Additionally, to operate flights to the U.S., Nigeria must meet the standards set by the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Programme and achieve Category One status.
“Upon attaining this status, Nigerian airlines would be permitted to operate Nigerian registered aircraft and dry-leased foreign registered aircraft into the United States, in line with the existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA),” Najomo noted.
Nigeria first attained Category One status in August 2010. Subsequent FAA safety assessments in 2014 and 2017 confirmed that Nigeria retained this status. However, since September 2022, the FAA removed Nigeria and other countries from the Category One list because they did not have any indigenous airlines operating flights to the U.S. or carrying the code of a U.S. operator within the preceding two-year period. Additionally, countries where the FAA was not providing technical assistance for non-compliance with international safety standards were also delisted.
The NCAA clarified that no Nigerian airline has operated flights to the U.S. using Nigerian-registered aircraft since before September 2022, which led to the expected delisting of Nigeria from Category One status. The country was officially notified of this decision last year.
However, Nigerian airlines can still operate flights to the U.S. by using wet-leased aircraft from a country with current Category One status. The NCAA reiterated its commitment to adhering to international safety and security standards and respecting the sovereignty of all nations, including the U.S., as stipulated in Article One of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
Captain Najomo added that this respect for sovereignty has prompted the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to actively promote Nigeria’s aviation sector internationally. This effort includes visits to Airbus in France and the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Additionally, significant progress has been made to ensure Nigeria’s full compliance with the Cape Town Convention, which is expected to restore international lessors’ confidence in the Nigerian aviation market.