Nigerian airlines would soon begin flights to the United Kingdom and other European countries as a result of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority obtaining a Third Country Operator certificate for the impacted carriers.
The Punch reported that the airlines assigned to the UK or certain EU countries can easily seek to operate with the TCO.
You may remember that the chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema, recently voiced his concerns over the airline’s being denied permission to fly to London.
It was discovered that all of the obstacles in the way of Air Peace had been removed thanks to the NCAA’s assistance.
In addition to Air Peace, Omni Blu Airline received the TCO from the NCAA, while United Nigeria Airlines had also been designated to fly to the UK.
The director general of civil aviation, Captain Musa Nuhu, counselled airlines to constantly bring the CAA along while dealing with another country.
According to him, it was common practice for many privately held airlines to negotiate flights with another nation without involving the CAA, only to turn to the agency when problems arIse.
We fought with various European nations, and we won a TCO (Third Country Operator) permit that will allow our airlines to fly there.
Airlines that are authorised to fly into another country, according to Nuhu, should contact the NCAA so that they can be introduced to and helped by the country in question.
“Ibom Air arrived, but they were having problems. I was able to solve the problem with just one phone call in about five minutes.”
The head of the NCAA went on to say that a bilateral air service agreement, which establishes the terms and conditions of flights between two countries, was necessary for any travel between the two countries. “Each country will choose an operator from that BASA. Some airlines, like Air Peace, are authorized to fly to the UK from Nigeria. The UK also authorized Virgin Atlantic and British Airways to fly to Nigeria.
“The regulatory requirements of the nations you are traveling into are the next step. You require a TCO if you are traveling to the UK. Before their separation, the UK and Europe were one. As a result, European airlines have their TCO as well as the UK.
“We have what we refer to as the Foreign Carriers’ Operating Permit, which is the equivalent of the TCO, if you are flying to Nigeria. Therefore, in order to fly into their countries, you must fulfil those regulatory standards,” Nuhu explained.
