By Chinelo Obogo
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has said that Tropical Arctic Logistics (TAL) is yet to meet the requirements for the renewal of its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) as it currently does not have three out of four key nominated post holders.
Responding to the exclusive interview which the Chief Operating Officer of TAL, Mr. Femi Adeniji, granted Daily Sun last week, where he accused the regulatory agency of refusing to renew its AOC for 18 months, the Director General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, said that it would not compromise in enforcing safety standards, regulatory requirements and ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in the initial issuance and renewal of all AOCs irrespective of the personality or organisation involved.
The DG said that in addition, the operator is yet to comply with COVID-19 Industry Restart Program like all other industry players did before receiving approval to resume operations and that its AOC will be renewed when the requirements have been satisfactorily met.
Nuhu explained the five- phased AOC process (both initial and renewal) is not peculiar to Nigeria as it is an ICAO requirement (ICAO Annex 6 Parts I and III and ICAO Document 8335) which is captured in Nig.CARS 2015 Part 9 on AOC Certification. He said the strict regulations are to ensure only qualified applicants are granted AOC and that it is one of the main reasons Nigeria attained FAA IASA Category 1 in the first instance.