NCAA to shut down airports operating without approval by Jan 2026

Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS) with Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Godwin Balang, has said that any airport or airstrip that operates flight services without approval should brace for closure by January 2026.

Speaking on Monday during a stakeholders’ engagement with airstrip owners and operators, organized by the authority, the NCAA chief maintained that airports have been warned to procure valid operational permits from NCAA before embarking on flight operations or face suspension.

He assured airline operators that the NCAA has put the right machinery in place to increase surveillance on the operations of airstrips in Nigeria, adding that only a few operators are up to date with valid operational permits out of 96 airstrips in Nigeria.

Balang warned that Section 71 (3) & (4)(a) of the NCAA 2022 empowered the authority to grant permits to conduct aerodrome operations in Nigeria and, more importantly, to establish minimum safety standards for the design, operation, and maintenance of aerodromes.

Balang stated, “At the inception of this administration, the Honourable Minister unveiled his agenda for the industry, to which the DGCA (Director General, NCAA) had to sign a performance bond.

In the bid to implement this, one of the key deliverables for the Directorate of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards is holding an airstrip owners’/operators’ engagement to develop the sector for our common good.

“This engagement is in alignment with this mandate to advance airstrip regulation in Nigeria. It may interest this forum to note that as part of the moves to fulfill this mandate, two of our international airports were recertified late last year, and we are working to certify others soon.”