Nigeria misses US Category One aviation status as bilateral window closes

Nigerian airlines have been delisted from the United States Aviation Administration Category One Status (USFAA CAT 1) International Aviation Safety Assessment programme.

This is due to the failure of any of the country’s airline to operate directly to the US for two years or vice-versa.

Nigeria’s name is currently missing from the list of African countries in the FAA Flight Standard Service Internat!ional Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme otherwise known as the Category One country list.

Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Morocco, and South Africa are the African countries on the FAA Category One list. The countries on the category one list are certified to have met International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

A new law by the United States apex aviation regulatory body, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stipulates that nations whose carriers fail to operate into the United States under the ‘Open Skies’ agreement between it and the US for at least two years will have its entire sector and airlines designated to undergo recertification.

Related News

The new rule which took effect a few months ago has technically, removed Nigeria from the category one aviation status.

The recertification involves a process that includes scrutiny of airport security, airport facilitation, airline audit and the type of aircraft to be used for the operations to the US by the designated airline or airlines.

This implies that no designated airline from Nigeria can operate in the US at the moment except through a third country.

Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines designated to Washington and Houston, Texas may see their plans to launch flights to the two cities hampered at least until they are certified including the country’s entire aviation processes.

Pending the recertification, Nigerian carriers will not be eligible to operate into the US.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.