NCAA Cracks Down on 11 Airlines Over Outstanding Debts

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has directed its directorates to suspend services to 11 domestic airlines over unpaid financial obligations until they comply with required remittances.

The directive was contained in a memo issued on May 22, 2026, by the Director of Finance and Accounts, Olufemi Odukoya.

According to the memo, the affected airlines include Air Peace Limited, Ibom Air, Arik Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Umza Air, NGeagle Airline, Max Air, Caverton Helicopters, Overland Airways, Rano Air, and ValueJet.

The memo, titled “Updated List of Airlines on No-Pay-No-Service,” stated that the Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, ordered that no directorate should provide services to any of the listed airlines without clearance from the finance department.

This means the airlines will be restricted from accessing key regulatory services until they settle outstanding debts owed to the aviation authority.

The action is linked to the non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), a statutory levy collected from passengers by airlines on behalf of the regulator.

Industry stakeholders say the funds are legally meant for aviation oversight, safety regulation, consumer protection, and sector development.

An aviation consultant, Adeola Fadairo, described the directive as justified, saying the practice of withholding statutory funds undermines regulatory efficiency and public trust.

He argued that the TSC does not belong to airlines but is collected in trust and must be remitted promptly to the NCAA.

“To collect these statutory charges from passengers and deliberately fail to remit them amounts to a grave abuse of public trust and corporate responsibility,” he said.

Fadairo added that financial difficulties faced by airlines cannot justify failure to remit statutory obligations meant for regulatory operations.

The NCAA has not yet indicated how long the suspension will last, but industry observers say the decision could impact flight operations and regulatory approvals if the issue is not resolved quickly.