The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has put on hold its planned “no pay, no service” rule for domestic airlines that owe statutory charges.
Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Chris Najomo, said the decision came after wide talks with stakeholders and a review of industry conditions — especially the soaring cost of Jet A1 fuel.
May 22 memo put at least 11 airlines on the no-pay, no-service list after debts piled up. Most domestic carriers — including Air Peace, Ibom Air, Overland, Arik Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Max Air and Caverton — were named. Those airlines quickly opened talks with the NCAA, which then explained the move was being paused.
The NCAA was keen to stress that suspension is not a waiver, cancellation or forgiveness of debts. All affected carriers remain responsible for settling statutory obligations, and the regulator will keep structured talks going to ensure compliance without grounding flights.
The authority reminded the public that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had earlier approved a 30% discount on outstanding charges owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies to help cushion the blow of high fuel costs and steady the sector.
NCAA also defended the controversial five per cent Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge as a statutory levy under the Civil Aviation Act. “The charge is not part of airline revenue or operating profit and should not be treated as such,” the authority stated. The charge is collected by airlines for the aviation ecosystem and must be remitted to the regulator and service providers who keep operations safe. The NCAA says it runs on cost recovery and needs these remittances to fund oversight.
The suspension, it said, is a calibrated step to balance enforcement with keeping planes flying while pursuing full debt recovery within a sustainable framework.
