Certification At Last   

Nigeria bags the long-desired Category 1 certification

•Arik airplane. The airline can now fly direct to the US with Nigerian crew.

Months ago, when the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Harold Demuren stated in full optimism that Nigerians’ gift for the 1 October 2010 Golden Jubilee Celebration will be the clinching of the Category 1 Certificate, many did not take him seriously. How could this be, when there appears a lot yet to be fixed in terms of infrastructure at the nation’s airports? Skeptics wondered.

But all such doubts have been laid to rest with the attainment of the long-desired certificate on 23 August 2010.

What it translates to is that Nigerian airlines have been handed the licence to fly their own planes into United States skies. The announcement by Dr. Robin Renee Sanders, at the Plateau Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja venue was met with a big roar of joy from the stakeholders present, who had waited for the verdict with bated breath. The US Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, has finally deemed it fit to accord Nigerian airlines this privilege. And it is indeed a privilege granted only a select few in Africa. Nigeria joins five other countries on the continent so certified.

The journey has taken about four years of intense preparations and series of assessments on the part of Nigeria and the United States Federal Aviation Administration, US-FAA. With airlines registered for the operations now flying directly from Nigeria to cities in the United States with Nigerian registered airplanes, operational costs will go down.

Before this approval by the US-FAA, direct flights by Nigerian airlines into the United States were through foreign registered aircraft typically handled by the country of registration in terms of operations. But now, the airlines can cruise directly into the United States unhindered with their Nigerian crew. Another plus attached to the current rating is the automatically reduced Insurance Premium for the nation’s aviation industry. Leasing aircraft from foreign lessors will also be enhanced henceforth. Category 1 status-certified nations are seen globally as being very conscious of maintenance standards.

The US Ambassador sealed the feat with a glowing comment: “This achievement is an important milestone for Nigeria and the US-bilateral relations. It is only fitting that this coveted category 1 rating comes at the dawn of the nation’s year of golden jubilee. The US Mission, NCAA and FAA have worked together as a team in the true spirit of bilateral partnership over the last two years to achieve this goal. Hats off to everyone for a job well-done and rating well deserved.”

Robin Sanders also declared that the FAA International Aviation Safety Assessment Category 1 was premised on the final results of a July FAA Inspection of the NCAA.

The International Aviation Safety Assessment, IASA category one rating also implies that Nigeria possesses the laws and regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in tune with minimum international standards, with its Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, being at par with the FAA in terms of aviation safety matters. Technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping and inspection procedures are also given A-ratings.

Bestowing the Category 1 status upon the nation marks the peak of Demuren’s achievement as the NCAA boss. He hinged the accomplishment on the robust safety reform programme embarked upon years ago by the aviation watchdog.

“We went through all our system and carried out recertification of our airlines, recertification of the aircraft and our personnel. Nigerian aviation has come of age as we have also moved away from the era of old-aged aircraft,” Demuren enthused.

Last year, the struggle by NCAA to attain the Category 1 rating suffered a setback with the unprecedented attempt by a Nigerian, Farouk Abdulmutallab, to bomb a Detroit-bound airplane on Christmas Day. Although the explosive device he carried on him failed, Nigeria was blacklisted by the U.S. And the issue of safety came to the fore, causing snappy introduction of the use of body scanners to put paid to further fears concerning security of passengers on board.

Several countries have earned the Category 1 certificate and lost it eventually. The U.S ambassador implored the NCAA not to let things slip or crash present standards. Arik Air, the first Nigerian airline to be recertified in compliance with Category 1 operations, is to register its aircraft dedicated to the Lagos-New York flights in Nigeria and fly Nigerian crew.

—Funsho Balogun