The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has extended the validity period for air operator certificates making some major amendments to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations of 2015.
“The validity period of the Air Operators Certificate, AOC, has been extended to five years for scheduled airlines and three years for non-scheduled operators just to give AOC holders some freedom to carry out their operations,” said Chairman, Regulations Committee, Engr. Godwin Balang during the stakeholders meeting.
According to the NCAA, the extension would allow airlines to carry out their operations seamlessly, adding that fees have not been updated since 2009.
In another proposed amendment, from March 31, 2024, only Nigerian AOC holders authorised for scheduled and cargo operations will be allowed to operate wet-leased aircraft and for no longer than six months. New AOC applicants in future will also have to have at least six Nigerian registered aircraft to start scheduled operations, with one Nigerian-registered aircraft for non-scheduled AOC applicants.
Remotely piloted aircraft systems/drones would be officially regulated for the first time. Various changes are proposed to penalties for infractions of the law.
Based on the Online stakeholder consultations, the comments on the proposed amendments will be reviewed and published. The working groups are currently in process of reviewing the stakeholder comments.