Unless there is a last minute change in the recommendations of the report of the Paul Dike�s Presidential Task Force on Aviation, airlines will now have to scale through a new capitalisation and registration regime in order to operate in the country.
The ten-man task force headed by AVM Paul Dike observed that although airlines were allowed a minimum standard to operate after which they are to improve on the standard, the criteria for the issuance of airline licences, permits and certificates are not in tune with changing environment of civil aviation in Nigeria.
Observing further that some airlines operate even below their entry standards, the Task Force therefore recommended that in addition to existing requirements for the issuance of an Air Transport Licence (ATL), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) should ensure that operators wishing to be issued an ATL/Air Operator Permit (AOP) should, having specified the tier of operation they are interested in, adhere to the new capitalisation which stipulates that Domestic Airlines require a minimum capital of N250m, Regional Airlines N500m while International Airlines will be required to capitalise with N1bn.
In addition, the report recommends that operators currently holding an ATL should have up to 31 March 2007 to meet the new capital base requirement while those who hold an ATL but are yet to commence operations should meet the new capital base requirement or face revocation of the ATL if they cannot commence operation before March 31, 2007.
Furthermore, an ATL holder wishing to commence operation in addition to meeting the new capital base requirement should also have at least two aircraft in its fleet before commencing operations.
It also put a maximum age of an aircraft to be imported into Nigeria at 22 years or 60,000 cycles at the time of entry, stressing that although the average age of aircraft in the national fleet is 22 years,�the age of aircraft per se need not be an issue�.
However it chided NCAA for allowing airlines �seek for unnecessary extensions for mandatory inspections� and recommends that NCAA should ensure stringent airworthiness certification procedures for ageing aircraft and that most experienced inspectors be deployed to check ageing aircraft in the national fleet.