The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended indigenous carrier, Azman Air with immediate effect.
The regulatory authority in a statement signed by its Director General, Captain Musa Nuhu said that following series of incidents involving the airline’s Boeing 737 aircraft it had to shut down the operations of the local carrier.
“NCAA has pursuant to Section 35 (2) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3 (A) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2015, suspended the operations of all the Boeing 737 aircraft in the fleet of Azman Air Services Limited, with effect from March 15, 2021,” the statement said.
The authority also explained that the suspension was to enable it conduct an audit of the airline to determine the root cause(s) of the incidents, and recommend corrective actions to forestall re-occurrence.
“The NCAA regrets the inconvenience this action may cause to the public, particularly to Azman Air passengers but the need to ensure the safety of air transport and protect the public interest cannot be compromised.
“The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority will continue to ensure compliance to its regulations in the interest of safety and will view any violation(s) seriously,” the statement added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Azman Air had sent a message through its twitter account, @AzmanAir that it would suspend its operations in order to carry out an audit of its safety processes.
The airline did not say that it was directed by NCAA to do so.
“Due to strong stance on safety, @AzmanAir will be undergoing an audit of its safety processes as supervised by the regulators. In this regard, all our operations are hereby suspended. We are on our toes to restore operations within a short period. Kindly accept our apologies,” the airline stated.