The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced the suspension of Azman Air operation over its failure to renew its Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
This suspension is coming a few months after the NCAA suspended the AOC of Dana Air over frequent incidents.
According to a report, it was gathered that the AOC of Azman airline had expired in the first quarter of this year and the regulatory agency through its inspectors had been working with the airline for the renewal process, which the airline consistently failed.
It was also gathered that before the regulatory agency suspended the operating license of the airline, the Directorate of Air Transport Regulation (DATR), a department in NCAA, had written a reminder letter to the management of the airline and issued it 30 days ultimatum to comply with the industry standards, but failed.
However, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos Airport, passengers of the airline were stranded as they could not fly to their destinations with the airline as planned.
Mostly affected were 6:30a.m passengers of the airline from Lagos to Abuja, while its Lagos-Kano air travellers were also caught in the web of crisis.
Some of the passengers were seen at the MMA2 making frantic efforts to purchase air tickets from another airline to continue with their journey as planned, while others insisted on getting a refund from the airline’s counter staff, but failed.
Aside from Lagos, it was also gathered that hundreds of passengers of the airline were stranded in Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna airports.
In the last three months, three commercial airlines have been suspended or have suspended operations on their own.
Firstly, it was Aero Contractor, who announced the suspension of its operations, citing the non-availability of forex and a hike in the cost of aviation fuel, known as Jet A1.
After that, the NCAA announced the suspension of Dana Air over safety concerns and thereafter Azman Air followed over failure to renew its AOC.