US Delisting of Nigeria from Aviation Safety List: The Alarming Consequences for Air Travel

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has disclosed why the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA) removed Nigeria from the Category One status of the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme. The delisting follows a lack of direct flights by Nigerian airlines to the US for two consecutive years.

With this development, Nigerian carriers can no longer operate direct flights to any US city or airport until Nigeria undergoes a new safety audit and regains its former status.

Nigeria first achieved the US FAA Category One status in August 2010 after a rigorous five-year assessment. However, due to declining standards and the absence of Nigerian airlines flying directly to the US over the past seven years, the country lost its rating.

The Acting Director General of NCAA, Chris Najomo, explained in a statement that Nigeria, like all countries, must meet the stringent standards of the International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme to operate flights to the US.

Najomo said, "Upon attaining this status, Nigerian airlines would be permitted to operate Nigerian-registered aircraft and dry-leased foreign-registered aircraft into the United States under the existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement.ÔÇØ

He further revealed that the US FAA delisted Nigeria and other countries from the Category One list if no indigenous airline had provided service to the US or carried the code of a US operator for two years. Nigeria was officially removed from the list in September 2022.

However, Najomo clarified that this delisting was not due to any safety or security deficiencies in Nigeria's aviation oversight system. He stated that Nigeria had passed comprehensive ICAO Safety and Security Audits without any significant safety or security concerns.

Despite the delisting, Najomo assured that Nigerian operators could still operate flights to the US using wet-leased aircraft from countries with current Category One status.

Implications of Delisting:

Nigerian airlines lose the ability to operate direct flights to the US, affecting international connectivity and passenger convenience.

Potential damage to Nigeria's reputation in global aviation, which could impact future partnerships and agreements.

The need for Nigeria to undergo a new safety audit to regain Category One status, which may take time and resources.