Nigerian Flight Deck Travel and Business Reportage
ALL things being equal, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will complete certification of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja tentatively and hand over the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) the certificate as a confirmation that the airport has met standard by Friday.
The certification of the Abuja Airport was stalled to carry complete the certification of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) to conserve funds since the certification process was cost consuming.
The MMIA was eventually certified in September 2017 after a tedious capital intensive process which gave room for FAAN to continue certification of NAIA.
Nigerianflightdeck learnt from a well placed source in the regulatory authority that
the Director General, Captain Usman Mukhar would be in Abuja hand the certificate to FAAN with the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika present.
The Certification process is carried out on the international airports to make sure they meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and according to the source, the NCAA will certify the MMIA and also follow up to ensure it is sustained.
“Getting the certification is a big deal, but sustaining the standard is what matters and that is what FAAN will have to contend with because in truth, the NCAA will not certify an airport that is not up to standard seeing that whatever we do is subject to ICAO ratification so it’s not going to happen that we will certify an airport that is sub-standard,” were the words of Usman when the MMIA was certified.
The certification of the NAIA brings to two the number of certified international airports in Nigeria as the current Minister had promised after taking office that this administration would ensure that all airports are certified.
