NCAA BEGINS AUDIT OF DANA AIR

Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, DG, NCAA

In an effort to restore public confidence and ensure air safety, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), yesterday, commenced a full scale operational audit of DANA Airline. The Director General (DG) of the Regulatory Authority, Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, said the exercise will last for five days and is being carried out by a team of NCAA Inspectors and two expatriates.

Capt Akinkuotu disclosed that the NCAA team is drawn from the Flight Safety Group (FSG) of the Authority, comprising of Airworthiness Inspectors, Flight Operations Inspectors, Ground Operations, and Cabin Safety Inspectors among others; while the expatriates are experts in the field of Airworthiness Inspection and Flight Operations.

“This is the beginning of a phased audit of all the airlines operating in Nigeria. We have put in place this wholesale programme to ensure that all airlines operating in our airspace are safe and secure.  The comfort of passengers is of great concern to the authority and investors in airline operation must have a level playing field and an enabling environment to ensure a profitable operation,” the DG noted.

DANA Airline’s operations were suspended to allow for a full operational audit to be carried out. At the conclusion of the exercise, the report will be submitted to the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Similar to a white paper, the report will be put to proper scrutiny and thereafter all open items will be closed by the airline. It is after this that a decision will be taken to enable DANA Airline to recommence their operation.