NCAA threatens to suspend airlines over N19bn, $7.6m debts

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Tuesday read out a riot act to local airline operators in the country over N19bn in debts.

NCAA Director General, Capt. Musa Nuhu has threatened that the aviation regulator will not hesitate to suspend the Certificates of Air Operator’s defaulting airlines.

Nuhu spoke at a briefing in Lagos with members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria and ground handlers

NCAA said the local airlines are owing it over N19 billion and $7.6 million on ticket charges they have collected from passengers but have refused to remit to the authority.

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The regulatory agency said the situation is crippling its finances and pitching the authority against the Federal Government.

He said rather than the airlines to think creatively to grow the businesses and the industry, they target the NCAA with campaign of calumny and falsehoods.

He said all airlines indebted to the NCAA must enter an MoU on how they will pay their debts in the next 30 days from August 30th, 2022 or their licences will be suspended at the expiration of the deadline.

He said since 2009, the NCAA had not reviewed its services, yet local airlines refused to pay, adding that NCAA charges were far lower than Ghana’s.

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) are also being owed over N5 billion and N19 billion respectively by the same Nigerian registered airlines.