Nigeria’s FEC approves bilateral air service agreement between Canada, Nigeria

A direct air service link between Nigeria and Canada could soon be a reality after Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council FEC approved a bilateral air service agreement (BASA) between the two countries.

The news was announced by Nigeria’s Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika during a briefing. He added that the agreement complied with the Chicago convention, according to a Nairametrics report.

“The approval we got was for the signing of a bilateral air service agreement between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the government of Canada and this is in accordance with the Chicago convention, to which both Nigeria and Canada are signatories,” Sirika said.

The BASA includes the granting of rights and privileges as well as the designation of airline authorization, withholding, revocation, suspension and limitation of authorization, and application of national laws and regulations, Sirika added.

Growing BASA implementation across Africa
African governments are turning to BASAs to liberalize commercial aviation ties with other countries.

In East Africa, Rwanda signed a BASA with Austria on July 19, 2022, with the aim of improving the trade and tourism links between the two countries, according to Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, Ernest Nsabimana, quoted by the New Times.

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, BASAs facilitate the reciprocal airworthiness certification of civil aeronautical products imported/exported between two signatory countries.