The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, says preparations are on for a successful International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO safety audit coming up in the first quarter of this year.
In a chat with newsmen in Abuja, the Director General, NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu said, the audit on the industry was to ascertain Nigeria’s compliance to ICAO standards and Recommended practices.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) allows ICAO to assess a State’s capability in providing safety oversight by assessing whether the State has effectively and consistently implemented the eight critical elements (CEs) of a safety oversight system.
As of June 1, 2020, ICAO has conducted USOAP activities in 187 Member States which represents 97% of all Member States having safety oversight responsibility for 99% of all international air traffic and in the first quarter of this year it will be the turn of Nigeria to be audited.
According to the Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA Captain Musa Nuhu, says preparations are in top gear for Nigeria to join other states on compliance to safety oversight.
“We are working assiduously with all the agencies and the audit is about safety audit on the oversight function of the NCAA so, when they come, they look through our books and see if our books are meeting ICAO standards and recommended practices”.
He said, areas of focus of the audit are; Primary Aviation Legislation and Civil Aviation Regulations, Civil Aviation Organization and Personnel Licensing and Training.
Others are; Aircraft Operations, Airworthiness of Aircraft, Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, Air Navigation Services andAerodromes and Ground Aids.
Captain Nuhu explained that, already zoom and physical meetings are being held with other agencies involved in the audit and feedbacks on preparations have been received.
“We have consultative meetings all the time with NAMA and FAAN, in NCAA we have our own internal meetings and this week, we are going to have a meeting with NAMA and NiMET on their preparations and we will have another meeting and feedback of progress before the end of the month with the agencies”.
He stated that, selected airlines to participate in the audit are being carried along in the preparation process.
On the recent slash of airfares by some domestic airlines, the NCAA DG says, it was not a sign that the airlines where having financial issues.
“It will be fool hardy to shoot yourself in the leg by cutting your airfares to the point that you are no longer profitable or break even so, it is the airline that can decide and knows the internal workings, efficiencies and deficiencies that can really determine and explain the reduction in airfares”.
He however stressed that, if there are any indication, a full economic audit would be carried out by the NCAA on the airlines.