Two Years After, FG Lifts Ban On 737 Max Planes

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has lifted the ban on Boeing 737 Max Aircraft in the Nigerian Airspace from February 12, 2021.

This is coming nearly two years after the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, banned the aircraft type following two fatal crashes involving the aircraft in 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines’ flight at Addis Ababa in March 2019, with 346 people killed in the crashes.

The model was grounded globally but in November 2020, the United States aviation regulatory body, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted approval for the Boeing 737 Max aircraft to commence flight operations.

Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, in a statement, said the authority recognized the joint technical review done by Canada, European countries, Singapore, FAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It was also noted that FAA had recommended special pilot training and safety alerts for operators and in view of these, NCAA said it had directed actions by foreign and domestic operators.

NCAA said all intending domestic operators were required to work with the Boeing Company and NCAA for the Aircraft Type Certificate Acceptance Programme to have the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft registered in Nigeria and issued with a Standard Certificate of Airworthiness.

“All foreign air operators that intend to operate the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into Nigeria must submit evidence of compliance with the FAA AD 2020-24-02,” Nuhu added.