NCAA To Sanction Aviation Agencies, Operators Over Non – Compliance

The Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA), says it would sanction airlines, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), if they fail to effectively carry out their responsibility as enshrined in the 2006 Nigerian Civil Aviation Act as amended.
This was disclosed by the acting Director General NCAA, Mr Benjamin Adeyileka who said that FAAN should be made to urgently carry out the perimeter fencing of the airport in the face of the current terror threat in the country and the provision of other infrastructure for security, safety and easy facilitation.
Mr Adejileka noted that in the past, the regulation was not strictly followed and that explained the laxity in these agencies not performing their duties efficiently and the airlines not abiding by the rules.
“I think we have started fullscale  enforcement we will now be telling FAAN about perimeter fencing, potholes on the apron etc. what am saying is that we have commenced active surveillance of different directorates.”
According to the Director General, we are looking into all areas of non-compliance if there is, we can sanction, enforceable sanction, citing relevant portions of the regulation, they have no choice.
The Director General said the aviation agencies cannot compromises the regulation because they are not more important than the operators, adding that NCAA is working with the airtimes and that has helped them to change their manuals to correspondent with the regulation manuals.
“We are now working with the airlines and we have made them change their operating manuals. We have combined that manual with regulatory manual, so whatever the manuals say you do. But we will make sure we have effective oversight”, he said.
Mr Adeyileka, therefore urged the agencies and the operators to work in accordance to the regulations while NCAA provides the oversight function as the regulatory body, pointing out there has been a high compliance rate from the aviation parastatals.
He added: “all I am advocating for is that we do our job, by providing this oversight going through appropriate  channels and procedure.
However, we are happy to say that compliance rate from the agencies is very commendable.
No one agency regulation is being strengthened and apart from that we are working together.”
“I am working with FAAN, NAMA and NIMeT to adequately reposition our system. NIMET has to be accurate with their forecast and it has to be precise because they are the one that  had give visibility reports. So those are the things we are working on, I want us to champion that please. So that is where we are going”, he concluded.