The Nigerian government has clarified that no ban has been imposed on Nigerian airlines by the United States government.
This assurance was given by Chris Najomo, the Acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), in a statement released on Monday, as reported by Naija News.
Najomo highlighted that Nigeria had achieved Category One status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program back in 2010, a status that was reaffirmed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during re-evaluations in 2014 and 2017. However, he explained that Nigeria was removed from the Category One list in 2022 due to the failure of Nigerian airline operators to meet specific permit requirements.
Najomo was quick to emphasize that the delisting was not due to any shortcomings in safety or security within Nigeria’s aviation oversight system. He assured that Nigeria had successfully undergone comprehensive audits by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which did not identify any Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) or Significant Security Concerns (SSeC).
In the statement, Najomo said, “It is crucial to clarify that Nigeria’s delisting is entirely unrelated to any deficiencies in safety or security within our oversight system. Nigeria has completed thorough ICAO Safety and Security Audits with no Significant Safety or Security Concerns raised.”
Najomo also pointed out that Nigerian airlines can still operate flights to the U.S. by using aircraft wet-leased from countries that maintain a current Category One status.
He added, “The NCAA remains fully committed to upholding international safety and security standards and continues to respect the sovereignty of other nations, including the United States, in line with Article One of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. This provision grants States complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace within their territories.”
Najomo further clarified that the delisting was linked to specific requirements that Nigerian airlines were unable to fulfill, such as providing direct services to the U.S. or carrying the airline code of a U.S. operator. Despite this, he reiterated that the safety and security standards of the NCAA remain unquestioned, and Nigerian operators can still access U.S. routes through aircraft wet-leased from Category One-approved countries.
