The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed that it has restored the Air Transport License (ATL) of Azman Air (AZM, Kano) and that its commercial operations have resumed after the airline submitted the necessary documents and a payment plan for outstanding fees.

A spokesman for the NCAA confirmed to ch-aviation by telephone that all outstanding issues had been resolved and that the airline was operating again from Friday, September 16, 2022.

Azman Air also confirmed on social media that its flight had been restored and would operate as scheduled from September 16.

Earlier last week, the NCAA suspended the carrier’s ATL – but not its air operator’s certificate (AOC) – until it provided the required documentation for the renewal of its license and had signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) on how it would pay off it’s NGN1.2 billion naira (USD2.7 million) debt to the regulator from outstanding passenger service charges on tickets.

NCAA Director General Nusa Nuhu told the Vanguard newspaper that “Azman Air must provide tax clearance as one of the documentation for its ATL and must sign the MoU to negotiate its debt remittance."

Azman Air is not the only airline with debts to the regulator, which has claimed it is owed NAD42 billion (USD98 million) and USD7.8 million in passenger services fees, which airlines collect on behalf of the federal government.

"We are not asking them for an interest rate, no penalties, we just want our funds remitted. We have put in place a tripartite agreement [between] the NCAA, airlines and the airlines’ banks. So, once those funds go to the bank, the 5% [fee] is automatically deducted and goes into the NCAA bank, and NCAA will share it with the other sister agencies on a pre-determined ratio as entrenched in the 2006 Civil Aviation Act," Nuhu said.

The NCAA's action against Azman Air follows its recent warning that it would take a tough stance against any airlines with outstanding debts to the regulator.