Nigeria Excels in Key Aviation Areas, ICAO Reports

The International Civil Aviation Organization released Nigeria’s Aviation Safety Score, comparing results in the Universal Safety Oversight Audit.

In this comparative analysis against the global average, West Africa outperformed in five key areas.

Nigeria excelled in Legislation, Organisation, Personnel, Licensing, Airworthiness, and Accident Investigation.

With a score of 90.48% in legislation, Nigeria surpassed the global average of 76.55%, while its 83.33% in Organisation topped the 71% global average.

Personnel Licensing achieved an 83.91% score, exceeding the 73.19% average. In Airworthiness, Nigeria scored 94%, showcasing a significant +10.92% improvement on the 83.08% global average.

For Accident Investigation, an 89.29% score meant Nigeria gained 34.47% on the global average.

However, in Operations, it dropped 8.61% below the 70.68% average to 62.07%. Additionally, there was a -21.06% below-average score of 44.26% in Air Navigation Services.

Concerning Aerodromes, its 56% score fell short of the 62.59% global average, indicating a -6.59% difference.

Nigeria’s overall score of 70% is -5% short of 75%, with key areas like operations, aerodrome, and ANS contributing to the lower Effective Implementation Score.

The Director-General of Civil Aviation responded to the results, emphasizing it as neither a pass nor fail but an opportunity for continuous improvement.

“There is a target. If you don’t meet the target, ICAO will send you a report with the protocol questions. You use that to develop an action plan within three months and close some of those gaps.”

He acknowledged areas where Nigeria did not perform well, particularly in the certification of airports, losing 10 points or more in that category.

“To be honest, we refused to certify the airports because they did not meet the requirements. If we had certified and ICAO found they didn’t meet the standards, our credibility would plummet.”

October 13, 2023