September 15, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has suspended the Air Transport Licence (ATL) of Azman Airlines.
Consequently, all flight operations of Azman Air have been grounded by the regulatory agency until further notice.
Confirming the new development, Director General, NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, in a chat with newsmen on Thursday, said the operations of the airline had been grounded for failure to renew its ATL despite several attempts by the NCAA.
Captain Nuhu said with the suspension of the Azman ATL, its Airline Operators Certificate, AOC has been made invalid.
Giving further explanation to the suspension, the NCAA said the ATL expired in 2021 and the airline made an appeal for 90 days extension, which was granted, followed by another 30 days which expired Wednesday, 14th September, 2022.
Captain Nuhu disclosed that Azman airline owes the NCAA N1.2 billion of unremitted Passenger Service Charge, PSC, and Cargo Service Charge, CSC and until that payment is made, the airline’s ATL will not be renewed.
He said all airlines indebted to the NCAA have been urged to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on the amount to be paid monthly to offset their debts, but unfortunately, Azman air has yet to sign the MoU before the expiration of its ATL.
The PSC and CSC are collected on behalf of the NCAA by the airlines and are expected to be remitted to the agency.
Currently, no staff of the airline resumed work at the airport and its offices today in Lagos due to the recent developments.
The grounding of Azman Air will make it the third domestic airline that would stop operations in Nigeria’s airspace in less than two months.
In July 2022, NCAA suspended Dana Airlines’ Air Transport Licence (ATL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) indefinitely, with effect from midnight of Wednesday, 20th July, 2022.
The suspension was made pursuant to Section 35(2), 3(b), and (4) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006, and Part 1.3.3.3(a)(1) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), 2015.
Similarly, the country’s oldest airline, Aero Contractors on July 18, 2022, announced the airline’s decision to suspend part of its flight operations, particularly scheduled commercial operations.
According to the airline, the decision was a result of the challenging operating environment it faced daily.
The airline said the situation was made worse as some of its aircraft were undergoing maintenance and were unavailable for use.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
