NCAA Lifts Suspension On Airline Over Abuja-Bound Flight Arrival In Asaba
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has lifted the suspension placed on the Part G Operation Specifications of United Nigeria Airlines.
This is coming following the suspension of the Part G Operation Specifications of UNA by the NCAA after one of its aircraft landed passengers at the Asaba international airport, on Sunday, rather than their destination, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
The airline had blamed “poor weather” for the diversion of the Abuja-bound flight to Asaba, the Delta State capital.
However, in a statement dated December 1, 2023, made available to Channels Television, the NCAA said its investigation into the unfortunate incident revealed lack of adequate liaison between the Lessor’s OCC and the Lessee’s OCC which omitted appropriate flight briefing from the point of departure.
The agency noted that the investigation also revealed that cockpit crew and the cabin crew did not hold preflight briefing before embarking on the flight and that the OCC flight monitoring of the United Airlines does not monitor the aircraft in the company’s Operation Specifications Part G (Wet Lease Aircraft) as well as non adherence to approved flight ATC flight plan.
The NCAA subsequently recommended that the approved flight programs sent to the lessor and the necessary briefings should be conducted with a dispatcher of lessee in attendance.
Other recommendations are that both cockpit and cabin crew should hold appropriate briefings before flight; flight following procedures should be strictly adhered to by both the lessor and lessee’s OCC and Flight Crew and all copies of filed flight plans should be handed to the cockpit crew via the lessee’s OCC.
