'Nigeria Has Highest Air Safety Standard in Africa' - THISDAY Live

[PaperMan]

'Nigeria Has Highest Air Safety Standard in Africa' - THISDAY Live

Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah

By Martha Momoh

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director General, Dr Harold Demuren, has said Nigeria has the highest safety standard.
He also said that was why Nigeria has not had any major accident in the recent past, adding that no aircraft can fly in this country today without maintenance and safety record.

Speaking to reporters at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos he said “We do auditing every week. It’s all over the place and we have a Safety Management System (SMS) that works in place. Our key oversight has reached the highest standard.
“The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), an Agency of the United Nations that oversees global aviation also carries out safety audit on member states including Nigeria regularly. We come out clean. The America Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) also carries out Security Audit on Nigeria, particularly on the major airports.

“We performed creditably well and for your information that is the reason that Nigeria got Category 1 in the last audit of the country by the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) audit programme.
Demuren said that this has enabled a Nigerian registered aircraft to fly directly from Nigeria to the United States of America “and that was what it meant, that you are now number one and that’s what we’ve achieved we are in the Premier League.”

He further said nobody can bring airplane with questionable safety papers to Nigeria. “It’s just a figment of their imagination. No aircraft can fly in Public Transport Category carrying passengers for hire and reward without having a valid Air Operation Certificate (AOC)”, he said.
He added that to get it is hectic and for maintenance, flight operation, and training, the head of crew of the aircraft and


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