The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has accused the Nigerian local airlines of a deliberate attempt to cripple its operations.
NCAA said the local airlines owe it over N19 billion and $7.6 million on ticket charges they have collected from passengers but have refused to remit to the Authority.
NCAA said the situation is crippling its finances and pitching the authority against the federal government.
The NCAA Director General, Capt. Musa Nuhu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during a stakeholder meeting with the airlines and the aviation agencies.
He said that rather than thinking creatively to grow the businesses and the industry, the airlines target the NCAA with a campaign of calumny and falsehoods.
Capt. Nuhu said all airlines indebted to the NCAA must enter an MoU on how they will pay their debts within 30 days of August 30th, 2022, or their licences will be suspended at the expiration of the deadline.
He said the NCAA had not reviewed its services since 2009, yet local airlines refused to pay, adding that NCAA charges were far lower than Ghana’s.
The same Nigerian registered airlines also owe the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over N5 billion and N19 billion, respectively.
Meanwhile, REPORTERS AT LARGE had earlier reported that Delta Airlines, the United States’ longest-serving operator in Nigeria, has revealed that it will suspend flight operations between JFK airport, New York, and Lagos from October 4, 2022.
Delta Airlines, which resumed operations on its Lagos-Atlanta route on September 9, 2020, said the route suspension was necessary to accommodate “the current demand environment.”
Recall that the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation Chairman, Rep. Nnolim Nnaji, commended the Federal Government for responding to the appeal and concerns expressed by the House Leadership. The Committee on Aviation by releasing more than half of the trapped foreign airlines’ funds.
