KEY POINTS

• The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority placed 11 domestic airlines, including Air Peace and Ibom Air, on a “no-pay-no-service” sanction list over unpaid debts.
• The directive follows growing industry pressure from aviation service providers demanding settlement of outstanding charges.
• Despite a government-approved debt discount earlier in the year, unresolved obligations have triggered stricter enforcement, raising concerns over aviation operations.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has placed 11 domestic airline operators on a “no-pay-no-service” sanction list following outstanding financial obligations owed to aviation agencies.

The decision was communicated through an internal memo dated May 22 and signed by Olufemi Odukoya, Director of Finance and Accounts. The directive instructed all departments within the authority to immediately suspend services to the affected airlines until they clear their financial obligations.

According to the memo, no directorate within the NCAA is permitted to render any service to the listed airlines without prior financial clearance, effectively restricting their operational access to regulatory support services.

The sanction list includes some of Nigeria’s major domestic carriers, among them Air Peace, Ibom Air, Arik Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Max Air, ValueJet, and several others.

Other operators affected include Umza Air, NG Eagle, Caverton Helicopters, Overland Airways, and Rano Air. The directive places all these airlines under financial restriction pending settlement of outstanding charges owed to aviation agencies.

These debts are reported to include a range of service-related charges such as landing fees, parking fees, navigation charges, and other operational levies imposed by aviation regulatory bodies.

Industry Pressure Mounts Over Airline Debts

The enforcement action follows increasing pressure from aviation service providers, including the Aviation Ground Handlers Association of Nigeria (AGHAN), which issued a three-day ultimatum to airlines over unpaid debts.

The association had earlier warned that it would withdraw services if payments were not made by a specified deadline, intensifying tensions within the aviation sector.

Industry stakeholders have raised concerns over the accumulation of unpaid charges, which has created financial strain for service providers and regulatory agencies responsible for maintaining airport and airspace operations.

Earlier in the year, the Federal Government approved a 30 percent discount on debts owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies as part of efforts to ease financial pressure on operators.

The approval, announced by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, covered debts owed to agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

Despite this intervention, the latest sanction indicates that outstanding obligations remain unresolved, prompting stricter enforcement measures by the regulatory authority.