NCAA Shifts Travel Agencies’ Registration Deadline To 2020
The deadline given to travel agencies to register with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has been extended to 2020.
Economic Confidential gathered on Thursday that the decision was taken at the end of meeting between NCAA, the International Air Transport Association and the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies.
The new deadline, according to NCAA, will be January 2, 2020.
The regulatory agency had in May, given a 60-day ultimatum to IATA accredited agencies in the country to register and obtain certificate of registration or have their businesses shut down.
NCAA had also directed the IATA not to accredit any travel agency not certified by it.
The General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye, had explained that the 60-day ultimatum took effect from May 7, 2019, adding that the controversy surrounding the regulation of travel agencies was misguided.
A source in the NCAA told our correspondent that following the issuance of the ultimatum, all the concerned stakeholders met to resolve the issues.
According to the source, between May when the ultimatum was given and date, a large number of travel agencies had come forward to register with the regulator.
“We currently have so many files of travel agencies to work on,” the source added.
Information obtained from the NCAA showed that there were only 149 registered travel agencies in the country, while over 600 are said to be in operation.
The Director of Air Transport Regulation, NCAA, Group Capt. Edem Oyo-Ita (rtd), recently said there were less than 150 travel agencies in the regulator’s registry.
According to him, only about 200 out of the over 600 travel agencies doing business in the country are registered with NANTA, which is a requirement for accreditation by the NCAA.
He said intending travellers should stop patronising unregistered travel agencies.
“We take the blame that we may be poor in our regulations in the downstream sector of aviation which has not been adequately taken care of in the past years but it is mandatory that all travel agencies must be registered with the NCAA and NANTA,” Oyo-Ita said.
The President of NANTA, Mr Bankole Bernard, said there was a need for the regulator to pay more attention to the downstream sector of the aviation industry.
He explained that there was an infiltration of unregistered travel agencies which he said was adversely affecting businesses, some of which had been forced to shut down.
