US ends 5-day audit of airports safety, says report to be ready before year end
…NCAA DG confident on Nigeria retaining Category 1 status
A top official of the four-man United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) team who were in Nigeria last week to audit the nation’s airports safety standards has assured the readiness of their report before the end of the year.
Speaking to Business Hilights exclusively, one of the US audit experts hinted that the report is expected before the end of the year, because “there are series of systems analysis and variation calibrations which all recorded features will be subjected to, and there results do take time”.
Besides, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Muhtar Usman, expressed confidence that Nigeria will retain its Category 1 safety rating following the successful completion of systems audit by the visiting United States FAA.
The five-day audit of the NCAA, was to either recertify Nigeria’s stay at Category 1 Safety Status, upgrade or downgrade.
Records however show that during the last FAA International Aviation Safety Assessment programme in 2010, Nigeria achieved Category 1 air safety rating from the United States audit team.
The rating means that Nigeria complies with international air safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance.
Explaining issues to Aviation Correspondents the US exercise in Lagos, Capt. Usman said “As with any audit exercise, you cannot expect 100 per cent performance. We expect that within the next 30 days, we will receive a written report from the FAA on their findings. As of now, Nigeria is still in Category 1 and so far so good, we are optimistic about our performance. All hands were on desk and I want to thank all our colleagues and the media for their support towards the success of the exercise”.
Before the exercise commenced, “the NCAA had done a lot in the areas expected to be covered, not only for the audit, but as part of the regulatory agency’s statutory responsibilities”.
“Recall that there was also a new Civil Aviation Bill, which was on its way to the National Assembly, adding that the “bill would enhance the current Act of 2006 in line with the new annexes of the ICAO Convention.
“We also amended our regulation, which is the 2015 Civil Aviation Regulation. Re-organisation has also been going on to make sure the organisation continues to discharge its responsibilities as it should be, which is to be in line with ICAO.”
“We want to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel in the industry in sufficient numbers to make sure we carry out the safety regulations as required by ICAO. In the area of enforcement and compliance, we have done a lot. We make sure that our regulations, which are mainly safety, are enforced,” he said.
While revealing that the certification of the Abuja and Lagos airports would soon be completed, Usman noted however, that the required safety standards must be met before they would be certified.
