The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Tuesday grounded, with immediate effect, the operations Azman Air for safety reasons.
The director general of the NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu who disclosed this in a statement said the agency took the action following series of incidents involving the airline’s Boeing 737 aircraft.
Nuhu also stated that the action was taken 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.
“Following series of incidents involving Azman Air Boeing 737 aircraft, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (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 suspension is to enable the Authority 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 viewed any violation(s) seriously,” he wrote.
It was learnt that the decision to suspend the airline was taken yesterday (Monday) at the management meeting of the NCAA after one of the company’s aircraft recorded a second tyre burst in one month.
It would be recalled that the airline had earlier stated that it had embarked on self regulation by shutting down its operation.
Due to our strong stance on safety, Azman Air will be undergoing an audit of its safety processes as supervised by the regulators. In this regards all our operations is hereby suspended. We are on our toes to restore operations within a short period. Kindly accept our apologies,” it stated.
However, NCAA’s statement clearly showed that the airline was lying through its teeth
