NCAA to suspend AOC of charter operators engaged in unauthorised services

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has threatened to wield the big stick over charter operations by unauthorized permit holders forthwith.

By this, any operator caught engaging in such unauthorized services will have its Air Operator Certificate [AOC] suspended or revoked.

In a statement signed by Sam Adurogboye, general Manager, Public Relations, he stated that consequently, the general public should be reminded that holders of Air Transport Licence [ATL] and Airline Operating Permit [AOP] with valid AOC are the only authorized operators to carry out Charter Operations.

According to him, “This is in line with the NCAA statutory responsibilities of safeguarding the interest of the general public and that of the investors in the aviation sector.

“The Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations [Nig.CARs] 2015 Part 18.2.3.1. states thus: “No person shall use any aircraft in Nigeria for hire and reward in public transport category to provide non scheduled or charter air service unless such a person holds an ATL or Airline Operating Permit (AOP) issued by the Authority.

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“For the purpose of verification and authentication, the list of current holders with appropriate authorization to carry out Charter Operations can be found on the NCAA website: www.ncaa.gov.ng or enquiries could be directed to [email protected]

“It therefore follows that any members of the public transacting business with any unauthorized operators will be doing so at a high risk as such operations may not have valid insurance cover.”

IFEOMA OKEKE

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.