The Federal Government has taken a bold step to ensure safety in the aviation industry by prohibiting licensed flight crew members from operating multiple airlines.
This directive, issued through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), comes after findings revealed that pilots and crew members were rendering services to different airlines simultaneously.
According to Capt. Chris Najomo, Acting Director-General, Civil Aviation, this practice poses a significant safety risk ¹. “Instances where pilots operate for more than one airline concurrently without safety considerations of such actions poses a safety risk to the industry,” he stated.
The NCAA emphasized that licenses issued to pilots and crew members are operator-specific, based on approved Standards of Operating Procedures (SOPs). This means that flight crew members cannot use their licenses to operate for multiple airlines.
*Key Points of the Directive:*
– _Prohibition of Ad-Hoc Flight Operations_: Flight crew members are barred from operating multiple airlines.
– _Operator-Specific Licenses_: Licenses are issued based on approved SOPs for specific airlines.
– _Safety Risk_: Concurrent operations without safety considerations pose a risk to the industry.
The NCAA’s move aims to prioritize passenger safety and maintain the highest standards in the aviation industry. With this directive, flight crew members must now choose one airline to operate with, eliminating the potential risks associated with multiple airline operations.
