The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) removed Nigeria from its Category One Status due to the absence of Nigerian airlines operating direct flights to the US for two consecutive years. This decision means Nigerian carriers cannot operate direct flights to US cities or airports until the country undergoes re-audit and re-certification by the USFAA.
Nigeria initially earned the USFAA CAT One Status in August 2010 after a rigorous five-year process. However, a combination of factors, including a decline in standards and the lack of direct flights to the US for seven years, led to the loss of this rating.
In a statement, NCAA’s acting Director-General, Chris Najomo, explained that Nigeria must pass the International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme to operate in the US. He noted that Nigeria’s Category One Status was retained after safety assessments in 2014 and 2017 but was delisted in September 2022 due to the absence of indigenous operators providing service to the US.
Najomo emphasized that the delisting does not imply safety or security deficiencies in Nigeria’s oversight system, which has undergone comprehensive ICAO Safety and Security Audits with no significant concerns. He added that Nigerian operators can still operate in the US using wet-leased aircraft from countries with current Category One status.
