NCAA lifts suspension on United Nigeria airlines

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has lifted the suspension it placed on the Part G Operation Specifications of United Nigeria Airlines, following an investigation into an incident where one of its aircraft landed passengers at the wrong airport.

On Sunday, November 26, 2023, an Abuja-bound United Nigeria Airlines flight was diverted to Asaba, the Delta State capital, due to “poor weather” conditions.

However, the NCAA investigation revealed that the diversion was caused by a lack of communication between the lessor’s OCC and the lessee’s OCC, which resulted in the omission of important flight information.

The investigation also found that the cockpit and cabin crew did not hold a preflight briefing before departing and that the OCC flight monitoring system did not properly track the aircraft.

Additionally, the airline failed to adhere to its approved flight ATC flight plan.

In light of these findings, the NCAA has made several recommendations to United Nigeria Airlines including; approved flight programs should be sent to the lessor and the necessary briefings should be conducted with a dispatcher of the lessee in attendance, 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, All copies of filed flight plans should be handed to the cockpit crew via the lessee’s OCC.

The NCAA has also stated that it will continue to monitor United Nigeria Airlines closely to ensure that it complies with all applicable regulations.