Airlines Operating Without Nigerian Pilots Will Be Grounded – Minister

The minister of aviation, Osita Chidoka, in an speech, yesterday, said the federal government has stopped all aircraft registered as private from doing charter services and other commercial operations.

Chidoka, who reeled out a series of important reformative actions of the ministry under his leadership said any private airline doing commercial operations without regularising its operations before February 5, 2015, would be grounded by the regulators.

The minister, who stated the reforms in a keynote address at a ceremony shortly before the unveiling of the Aviation Commits, a reformative customer-centric initiative, also directed that all airlines operating in Nigeria without a Nigerian pilot in its crew by July 1, 2015, would also be grounded, as he said airlines can now operate round-the-clock and no longer limited by time.

As part of the aviation reforms, all agricultural products exports are to be exempted from paying the five per cent cargo charge. Also, all domestic airlines would be required to train their pilots yearly as they would only get their Airline Operators’ Certificate (AOC) renewed on a satisfactory plan for training their pilots, in addition to other existing requirements.

The minister said, “By the February 5, 2015, all private registered aircrafts in general aviation operation which also provide commercial services will be grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). “We will publish their names and we are saying that none of them will be on our airspace if they do not regularise their operations. We hope they will all come under this regulatory purview.”

He said the ministry will also harmonise charges to avoid multiplication of levies. He also said the Aviation Commits initiative is a customer-centric step by the ministry to “bring back the customer.”

The initiative will be a campaign to create awareness on the passengers’ bill of right. “It is aimed at re-packaging, re-branding and re-directing the aviation industry in Nigeria towards enhanced service delivery and customer satisfaction,” the minister said. (Leadership)