THE Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has imposed a two million naira fine each on airlines that were grounded last week for safety regulation violation.
Apart from the fine, the airlines would also need to certify all safety requirement before they could be allowed to resume operations.
A source at NCAA said the measure was to emphasise safety, adding that the sanitisation of the industry was on-going.
The NCAA had last week grounded IRS, Fresh Air, Sosoliso, Dasab and Spaceworld for allegedly violating safety regulations. NICON Airways’ licence was suspended on Thursday by the regulatory body, for allegedly operating only one aircraft.
The source stated that Sosoliso may not have its suspension lifted on time because of controversy trailing its insurance and for the delay in rectifying some shortcomings discovered in one of its aircraft.
The Managing Director of the airline, Oscar Ikwuemesi, had recently said it was at the verge of completing the settlement of claims to the families of those who lost their lives in the air crash of December 10, 2005 in Port- Harcourt.
The regulatory body had restated its resolve to review the certification of all airlines, with a view to ascertaining their level of safety compliance. The call for review became intensified following the ADC crash in Abuja last month, in which over 96 people were killed.
All domestic airline operators yesterday held a closed-door meeting with the Director-General of NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, and other directors of the agency.
The meeting, The Guardian learnt, was called at the instance of Demuren to find lasting solution to plane crashes recorded in the industry over the past one year.
An airline source, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the meeting. He, however, added that the meeting discussed various ways to move the industry forward, adding that safety and security were emphasised at the parley.