In Line with Section 35 (2) Civil Aviation Act, 2006, Part 1.3.3.3 (A) Of NCARs 2015, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday suspended with immediate effect the operations of Azman Air. Azman is one of the domestic airlines in the country’s challenged aviation sector where most operators are struggling.
A statement signed by the Director General of NCAA, Capt Musa Nuhu said the suspension followed the series of incidents involving Azman Air Boeing 737 Aircraft. Nuhu explained that the suspension of the airline’s operations is in line with Section 35 (2) of the Civil Aviation Act, 2006 and Part 1.3.3.3 (A) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CARs) 2015.
He said that by this suspension, all the Boeing 737 Aircraft in the Fleet of Azman Air Services Limited, has been with effect from March 15, 2021. According to him, “The suspension is to enable the Authority to conduct an audit of the airline to determine the root cause(s) of the incidents and recommend corrective actions to forestall re-occurrence.”
The NCAA, he said regrets the inconvenience this action may cause to the public, particularly to Azman Air passengers but that the need to ensure the safety of air transport and protect the public interest, cannot be compromised. Nuhu added that NCAA will continue to ensure compliance to its regulations in the interest of safety and will viewed any violation(s) seriously. The airline has been having series of incidents, a situation that led to the present development.
It would be recalled that in November 2019, a Lagos-Abuja bound Boeing 737 aircraft with registration number ZQ 2323 belonging to Azman Air on made air return over fire eruption.
The aircraft, which was carrying close to 135 passengers had to make an air return 10 minutes after takeoff after fire alarm alerted the crew who rushed to put off the fire. On Monday, September 13, 2020, hundreds of passengers of the airline were stranded at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos as a result of the sudden cancellation of its morning flight to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
While some passengers alleged that they were not informed of the flight cancellation by the airline, others said they got information about the cancellation late Sunday night. Attempts to reach the Azman Air, then on the matter did not yield any fruitful result as the mobile line of one of the management staff of the airline could not be reached.
Also, in February 16, 2021, the airline’s airplane a Boeing 737-500 with registration number 5N-SYS had a tyre burst at the 18R runway of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, dedicated to international flights.
