Nigeria reaches compromise with airlines over $58mn debt

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has reached a compromise with local airlines on a plan to recover about NGN22 billion naira (USD58 million) in various charges owed by the carriers, according to Director General Musa Nuhu. Speaking to parliamentarians conducting an oversight visit to the NCAA offices in Lagos recently, he said the regulator understood the difficulties airlines were experiencing resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and would institute a payment plan that was accommodating to both the airlines and the agency, local media reported. The members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation were inspecting the dispersal of funds by the NCAA, according to the Committee Chairman, Nnolim Nnaji. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika recently disclosed that local airlines owed NGN19.37 billion (USD50.9 million) in unremitted ticket sales charges and NGN2.7 billion (USD7.1 million) in cargo sales charges, both collected on behalf of the NCAA, the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB). Nuhu noted that between now and 2024, the NCAA would be capacitating five regional offices of the NCAA to improve efficiency. “We are empowering five regional offices to ensure that jobs in smaller areas get done without referring to Lagos or Abuja. Opening more regional offices in the far reaches of the country (will) bring regulations closer to operators outside Lagos and Abuja.” He said the NCAA’s regional office in Port Harcourt Omagwa was already servicing the South-East of the country, while regional offices in Enugu, Maiduguri or Yola, Ilorin, and Uyo or Calabar were being considered. He said improved training of NCAA inspectors and other regulatory staff was also key to the effectiveness of the agency. The NCAA also needed to pay higher salaries in order to attract and keep talent, especially pilots and engineers, who were able to earn better at the airlines, he said.