The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has read riot act to debtor
airlines operating in the country, urging them to honour their
outstanding accumulated N5 billion debt portfolio to the authority or
face sanction.According to the Director General, Captain Muhtar Usman, who issued the threat recently, the debt accrued from services, specifically the five Per cent Ticket Sales charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge rendered to the debtor airlines by NCAA.
Captain Usman strongly warned that aside the pending sanctions, other punitive measures would be applied to ensure that the erring airlines have themselves to blame as the 14-day the ultimatum issued the airlines has expired.
In his words: Failure to comply with the directive of repayment, the authority shall enforce the provisions of section 27 (B) of the Civil Aviation Act. NCCA shall therefore explore all measures contained therein to enforce the collection of the debts “.
The DG subsequently threatened that both the names of debtor airlines and the total amount due for payment would be published in at least five national dailies.
Also, the publication shall contain the names of the promoters of the adamant airlines, debtors and other related parties, he stressed.
He expressed worries at the hard stance adopted by the airlines, emphasizing that all entreaties, debt reconciliation parley, visits and reminders were yet to yield result.
Captain Usman defended the decision of NCAA on the issue, explaining that the five per cent charges were content charged in the ticket sold to passengers.
“In other words the general public needed to be informed that the ticket/cargo sales charge represent charges collected at source from the travelling public by the airlines on behalf of civil agencies”, he maintained.
The NCAA boss reiterated that section 12 (1 ) of the NCAA Act 2006 provides that there shall continue to be five per cent contract charter and cargo sales to be collected by the airlines and remitted to the authority.
While enjoining the airlines to be mindful of federal government’s directive on recovery of public debt, he made it clear that non remittance of these outstanding payments as at when due is not only synonymous to breach of the trust but a violation of extant provisions.
He further deposed that the NCAA would not hesitate to evoke its financial policy of “No payment, No service” until there is complete clearance of all outstanding indebtedness to the authority.
