Aero Contractors set to resume operations – NCAA

The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, has said Nigeria’s oldest airline, Aero Contractors, has fulfilled all requirements to resume operations. He spoke with newsmen as the airline concluded plans to resume operations on December 5, five months after suspending them in July. Ahead of the resumption, the airline has […]

The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, has said Nigeria’s oldest airline, Aero Contractors, has fulfilled all requirements to resume operations.

He spoke with newsmen as the airline concluded plans to resume operations on December 5, five months after suspending them in July.

Ahead of the resumption, the airline has reactivated its portal and uploaded flight schedule to enable bookings by passengers.

The NCAA DG, who lauded the development, explained that Aero Contractors was not grounded based on safety issues but due to financial challenges.

He said, “We did an audit of them (Aero) because whatever audit you do, you have findings, and they were all minor findings. There were no Level 1, 2, 3 findings. They were very insignificant. We notified them. We audited them and we found out that the issue they had was financial sustainability.

“So, before the financial issue became a safety issue, we had a discussion with them and they on their own, before we took any action, agreed with our findings and suspended their operations to enable them to reorganise and get some funding to get more equipment.

“We had MoU with them for payment of outstanding five per cent on Ticket Sales Charge (TSC).

“So, they are fine. As far as we are concerned, they can resume operations,” Nuhu said.

Speaking further, the DG stated that the authority is doing its best to deepen safety among operators in Nigeria.