The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has temporarily suspended enforcement of its “no pay, no service” directive issued against domestic airlines over outstanding statutory debts.
The NCAA announced the decision on Sunday following consultations with stakeholders in the aviation sector and concerns over rising operational costs, especially the increasing price of aviation fuel.
Captain Chris Najomo, the director-general of the NCAA disclosed this in a statement issued in Lagos.
The authority had earlier directed its departments to suspend regulatory and administrative services to 11 domestic airlines listed for unpaid statutory remittances.
The affected airlines included Air Peace, Ibom Air, Arik Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Umza Air, NG Eagle, Max Air, Caverton Helicopters, Overland Airways, Rano Air and ValueJet.
According to the NCAA, the temporary suspension of the directive does not amount to a waiver or cancellation of the debts owed by the airlines.
Najomo stressed that all affected operators remain fully responsible for settling their outstanding obligations and that the authority would continue engaging them individually on repayment arrangements.
He explained that the decision was taken to avoid disruptions in the aviation industry while efforts continue to recover the debts.
The NCAA also recalled that President Bola Tinubu had earlier approved a 30 per cent discount on outstanding fees owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies as part of measures to cushion the impact of rising Jet A1 fuel prices.
Najomo said the Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge remains a statutory levy collected by airlines on behalf of the aviation sector and must be remitted to the regulator.
He noted that the charges are not part of airline profits and are shared among the NCAA and other aviation service providers to support safe and efficient operations.
The NCAA boss added that the authority depends on such remittances to carry out its regulatory responsibilities, as it does not receive direct federal government funding for routine operations.