Govt unveils plans to restructure NCAA

THE Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority( NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, has unveiled a comprehensive plan to shore up recent gains in safety and economic regulation and accelerate growth in the nations civil aviation industry.As part of the plan, the apex regulatory authority  may be restructured for the emergence of three Deputy Directors Generals, a new and stringent regime of consumer protection regulation with heavy penalties for erring service providers and more investment in the development of human resource.Demuren is also relying on the newly acquired aircraft tracking system to  enhance air safety. A new deal with airlines and banks would improve the inflow of revenue into the Authority.The NCAA chief  is poised to build on recent accomplishments such as a string of successful international air safety audits which culminated in the attainment of US FAA Cat 1 Status and the introduction of Billing and Settlement Plan, which is believed to have boosted the downstream arm of the sector.A Proposal to restructure the NCAA into a more robust and effective regulatory authority is being discussed.According to him, NCAA will in the near future be streamlined into three main directorates. They are Flight Standard Group (FSG), which will encompass Licensing, Airworthiness, Operations and Aeromedical; a new directorate, which will cover infrastructures involving agencies such as Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET); Air Transport Directorate will regulate the aviation economy.His words, This is being given serious consideration. Thats the logical growth for NCAA, in future as the industry grows. It is logical, it is very clear because the job of NCAA is very enormous.He explained that the proposed structure was also a requirement of the United States  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category one status and a recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the United Nations agency that regulates global aviation. 
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