The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) took a decisive step on Wednesday by suspending the operations of ExJet, a prominent airline, amidst allegations of possessing a counterfeit insurance certificate.
In an official letter bearing reference number NCAA/DGCAIGC/8/16/628, titled “Notice of Suspension of the Air Transport License (ATL) and Air Operators Certificate (AOC) EXJETJAOC/01-22/00,” the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, dated August 30, 2023, addressed the matter to the Manager of ExJet Limited. The letter unequivocally stated that the airline’s aircraft insurance documents were found to be inauthentic and did not originate from Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, as the airline had claimed.
The correspondence, a copy of which was sent to key stakeholders including the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA),read: “The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is in receipt of the response to our letter of verification from the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) regarding your Certificate of insurance with No.40122093300118-22E in respect of your Embraer 145. The authenticity of your insurance documents and the fact that the documents did not emanate from Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, as presented to the Authority, have been confirmed.
“The letter continued, “In view of the above, the Authority is investigating the matter and hereby suspends your Air Operators Certificate (A0C) with certificate No XEIETIA0C/01-22/001 for safety considerations and public interest in accordance with Section 59 (7) of the Civil Aviation Act with immediate effect pending the conclusion of our investigation.
“The directive further listed the aircraft whose operations were suspended due to this incident: 5N-BZM Embraer EMB-145LR with Serial No. 14500842, 5N-BZL Embraer S.A EMB-145MP with Serial No. 145360, 5N-BZN Embraer EMB-145MP with Serial No. 1450056, and 5N-XEL Bombardier INC. CL-600-2B19 (CRJ 200) Serial No. 7975.ExJet was instructed to return the Air Transport License (ATL) and Air Operators Certificate (AOC) to the office of the Chairman of the Flight Standard Group immediately upon receiving the letter, marking a significant setback for the airline pending the conclusion of the investigation.
