NCAA to curb frequent wet-lease aircraft incidents, lists fresh guidelines, violators risk suspension, others

•  Lists new operational guidelines to carriers

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said that the preliminary assessment by the authority in the case of a mistaken flight to Asaba instead of Abuja by a United Nigeria Airlines flight had shown that occurrences such as the one that happened on Sunday relate to lack of familiarity with the operational environment by the wet-leased aircraft flight crew.

The Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu in a circular to all airlines’ directors of Operations with reference, NCAA/DGCA/AIR/11/16/347, entitled, “Wet Lease Operations in Nigeria-Flight Crew Qualification”, dated November 28, 2023stated that while the authority is investigating these incidents to determine their root causes, it had taken some actions to curb the trend of the occurrences including the suspension of some of the wet-leased operations connected to the recent incidents.

Nuhu lamented that the authority observed that some Nigerian Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holders may not have been providing adequate guidelines and supervision over the lessors.

Aside from that, he disclosed that the NCAA equally observed that wet lease arrangements are made at short notice by the Nigerian AOC holders without adequate time allocation to train and familiarize the lessors’ flight crew with the AOC operations specifications, routes, aerodromes, terrains, and operations in the Nigerian airspace including weather as the operational requirements of Nig.CARs 8.10.1.30.

Based on this, the NCAA according to its Director-General hereby reminds all AOC holders involved in wet-lease operations that it is their duty and responsibility to ensure the lessors’ flight crew are made familiar with the lessee’s operations within Nigeria including their operations specifications, routes, aerodromes, and company’s indoctrination.

“All AOC holders involved in wet-lease operations are hereby required to ensure the lessor’s flight crew are properly trained and acquainted with the AOC holder’s operational requirements in Nigeria including their Ops Specs, routes, aerodrome including CNS facilities, and company indoctrination”.

“They should ensure no foreign wet-leased aircraft crew are allowed to conduct commercial flight operations to an aerodrome unless they have previously flown there under the supervision of the AOC holder (Lessee). All AOC holders in wet-leased operations are hereby required to provide proof of compliance with the provisions of Nig.CARs 8.10.1.30 (ICAO Annex 6, Part 1 Chapter 9 as relates to a demonstration of operational competency of navigation over the route and area to be flown and the aerodromes approved for the AOC holder, latest by December 5, 2023”.

The guidelines further stated that early arrangements for future wet leases should be made with potential lessors to ensure that lessors’ flight crew are acquainted, trained, and prepared to operate in Nigerian airspace.

Nuhu warned that failure to comply with the listed requirements will lead to immediate suspension of wet-leased operations and enforcement actions up to and including certificate action.

Wole Shadare