Medview ban: Slap on NCAA

Over the years, NCAA had done excellently well in its regulatory oversight and earned so much respect and international recognition culminating in the award of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) category one aviation status.

This status has put Nigeria in the top league of aviation regulation. Former Director General of NCAA; Dr Harold Demuren, described the country as playing in the premier league of global aviation.

Nigeria also retained the award and has consistently done well in safety rating, leading to high rating of the sector and NCAA by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), but this latest ban on Medview puts a lot of scrutiny on the aviation regulatory body.

What could have led the EC to take that action is still ravelled in mystery aside the short statement given by the EU, saying the carrier comes short in area of safety.

The regulator agency is yet to come up with statement on what went wrong with Medview’s safety oversight.

The agency had since last week kept mute on the situation and carried on as if all is well.

The public demands explanation from NCAA. The European Commission, last Wednesday night, barred Medview from operating into European airspace for safety reasons. Several other airlines were also barred. A total of 181 airlines were barred from flying into Europe. 174 airlines were barred due to safety oversight by aviation authorities in their home countries.

All carriers from Mozambique and Republic of Benin were removed from the list of airlines banned.

Medview was one of the seven airlines barred due to safety conditions. Medview’s ban is the first on any Nigerian carrier since the nation attained category one aviation status in August 2010. EC contacts agency Usually, the EC does not make its findings or safety infractions known to the media, but usually communicates such to the civil aviation authority of the affected countries.

The EC is due in the country to further access the operations of the airline in collaboration with the NCAA.

The group usually updates the EU Air Safety List, the list of airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union. The EU air safety list seeks to ensure the highest level of air safety for European citizens, which is a top priority of the aviation strategy adopted in December 2015. The EU Air Safety List is one of the Union’s main instruments to meet that objective.

In a swift reaction, Med-View Airline clarified the European Union operational restriction, which it said the public has misunderstood as a total ban on its UK operations.

A statement from Executive Director, Business Development and Commercials, Medview Airlines Plc, Mr. Isiaq Na’Allah, said its operations to London is in no way affected by the ban and had since been operating with her wet-leased aircraft.

He noted that the ban, which falls under exception rule in European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Annex A, where it states that “Air carrier listed in Annex A could be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier, which is not subject to an operating ban.”

The airline regretted the anxiety the “misinformation may have caused its teeming passengers and assured them that there is no basis for alarm as the Lagos-London flight remains unaffected.

“We at Med-View Airline are committed to safety, and currently working with EASA and NCAA to restore normalcy, the statement said.

Na’Allah disclosed that the carrier had on May 17, 2017, operated its normal schedule flight to London amidst the misinformation about the restriction.

He recalled that in March 2016, Med-View Airline passed through one of the most stringent operations audit of the global airlines’ body – the International Air Transport Association (IATA), after which it was issued with IOSA – International Operational Safety Audit. Besides, he said that the airline has secured a B777 aircraft leased from an EU-member state to boost its international operations, which he reiterated would soon join the fleet.

President, Aviation Round Table (ART), Gbenga Olowo, in a text message to Woleshadare,net said: “If the 5N (Nigerian registered aircraft) has safety issues, it is an indictment on NCAA.”

A former Assistant Secretary- General of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mohammed Tukur, said the restriction could have been based on the fact that the UK or Europe is not comfortable with the aircraft, B747-200 and B767, that the airline operated with to London, adding that it could be the reason the airline was advised to lease an aircraft from EU member state.

Tukur stated that the carrier recently passed the IOSA safety audit and could not have been restricted for safety reasons. He noted that it is possible that the EU might have passed an age limit on category of air planes, which the Medview’s London plane may not have met; the reason, he said, could have led to the EU advising the airline to lease aircraft from EU member state.

Tukur recalled a similar Nigerian policy in 2002 that barred the use of certain category of aircraft of over 22 years from the country’s airspace. This policy forced operators to switch to ‘newer’ fleet.

In the past one year, more Nigerian airlines have seen the need to be members of the International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) to boost their ranking and acceptability globally and this has been described by most as a welcome development and has encouraged them to take the next step in safety operations.

The IOSA certification audit is a two-year certification internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and co”ed audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner. Airlines are re-evaluated every two years.

IOSA became the safety watch word in Nigeria for aviation when in 2016 visiting Regional Director for Africa, Tanja Grobotek, reiterated that the IOSA certification is an aspect of the Abuja Declaration of 2012 that would aid safer skies for African airlines.

Abuja Declaration is the outcome of a meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 16-20 July, 2012; aimed at fostering partnership around Africa and enhancing safety standards as well as implement all safety initiatives in the region. Where could Medview have gotten it wrong?

That is the question on the lips of many people. Like Olowo said, until this is resolved satisfactorily, it is seen as serious indictment on the NCAA.