The Nigerian Federal Government has formalized the Cape Town Convention (CTC) Practice Direction, a directive aimed at reducing the operational costs for airlines in Nigeria.
This significant achievemnet was achieved during a stakeholders’ meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The signing was formalized by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho.
With the CTC Practice Direction now in place, the Cape Town Convention is fully operational in Nigeria. This is expected to lower insurance costs for airlines, increase investor confidence, and facilitate domestic airline operators to dry lease aircraft, among other benefits.
In a related development, the Federal Government has clarified that no Nigerian airline is under any ban from the United States.
According to the acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo, Nigeria had achieved category one status under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme in 2010.
However, due to failure to meet certain requirements, the country was delisted in 2022.
Najomo emphasized that the delisting was not due to any safety or security shortcomings. Nigeria has successfully passed both International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audits with no Significant Safety or Security Concerns.
Moreover, Nigerian operators can still fly into the U.S. using aircraft wet-leased from countries with current category one status.
The NCAA reaffirmed its commitment to international aviation safety and security standards, highlighting respect for the sovereignty of all nations as stipulated in international aviation law.
