As part of its move to constantly maintain discipline in the aviation industry and to also guarantee the safety of passengers, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended three pilots for allegedly taking alcohol before operating their flights.

The aviation regulatory body directed the pilots to undergo psychiatric evaluation before rejoining the service.

According to Mr Sam Adurogboye, the Acting General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA had recently withdrawn the licences of the trio and placed them on a three-month suspension for breaching civil aviation regulations in the country.”

He revealed that according to the rules, a pilot is prohibited from taking alcohol for at least three hours before flight time.

The spokesman noted that such act could compromise the safety of their passengers, adding that the NCAA was very vigilant in ensuring strict compliance to safety rules.

“It is very clear. They are to be off duty for three months. While on suspension, they are to be made to go through psychiatric evaluation before rejoining the service,” he said.

Adurogboye, advised all airline operators and pilots to abide by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), stressing that offenders would be visited with severe penalties.

“The country has more than 25 airports, 30 airlines, 590 pilots, 19 flight engineers, 258 air traffic controllers (ATC), 677 aircraft maintenance engineers, 1,103 cabin crew and four aircraft dispatchers.”

“Nigeria regarded by many as Africa’s most populous country is an important destination for over 22 foreign carriers. And the country currently has Bilateral Air Services Agreements with over 78 countries. From Nigeria, air travellers can fly directly to many of the world’s business centres such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Johannesburg, Atlanta, Amsterdam, Dubai and Jeddah to mention a few.

With the attainment of America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Category One Certification, Nigerian registered carriers can now fly directly into the United States of America (USA)

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is the regulatory body for aviation in Nigeria. It became autonomous with the passing into law of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 by the National Assembly and assent of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Act not only empowers the Authority to regulate Aviation Safety without political interference, but also to carry out oversight functions of Airports, Airspace, Meteorological Services, etc as well as economic regulations of the industry.

Disclosing further the Acting PR Manager said, Nigeria has recently successfully passed the ICAO Security follow-up Audit of May 2006 and the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit in November 2006. Nigeria is now preparing for the American FAA IASA Category 1 Certification.

“Nigeria now boasts of improved aviation infrastructural facilities at the airports, state of the art navigational aids, modern weather forecasting equipment and highly skilled manpower to ensure safety and comfort of the flying public.

“Airlines have started bringing in brand new aircraft to the industry 737-700 new generation, Regional Jet CRJ 400/900, Dash 8-400Q, Business Jet/Turboprop, Helicopters, B777, Dreamliner B787, Jumbo Jet Boeing 747-400 series as well as brand new Regional Jet Embraer.” •Text courtesy of Independent.

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