Why we withheld Azman Air’s license – Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has shed more light into the suspension of Azman Air’s operations.

Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, confirmed that it was withholding the Air Transport License (ATL) of the airline until it provides the required documentation for the renewal of its operational licenses and make put forward a payment plan on its N1.2bn debt, according to Daily Trust.

The airline had been forced to suspend operations over the non-renewal of its operating licenses.

The ATL is one of the certifications an airline must have and regularly renew before it can operate.

This is coming a few weeks after the NCAA threatened to sanction airline over huge indebtedness of over 42bn and $7.8m accruing from the ticket sale charge and cargo sale charge (TSC/CSC).

He said, “This is not a charge and this is not their money, it’s monies collected in trust for us from passengers and they squandered it. We are not asking them for an interest rate, no penalties, we just want our funds remitted. We asked them to sit and negotiate as they collected on our behalf and refused to remit.

“I cannot keep explaining to the the Minister, to the Accountant General, to the Presidency why we cannot remit money meant for them to them. We have been forced to carry out this action,” he said.

A source in Azman Air however said that the airline is making efforts to settle the issue with the NCAA.

There are indications that more airlines might be affected in a few days to come over the issue of indebtedness which the NCAA has committed to aggressively pursue.

The TSC/CSC is a statutory charge paid on every ticket which the airlines are expected to remit to the NCAA for onward sharing with aviation agencies, reports Daily trust.