Nigeria: NCAA Urges Restoration of 65% Ticket Sales Charge Share
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has urged the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation to restore its original 65 per cent share of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC), warning that any reduction in its statutory funding could weaken the country’s aviation safety oversight system.
Speaking at the public hearing on the proposed review of the allocation of the five per cent TSC and CSC in Abuja on Thursday, the director-general of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Chris Ona Najomo said the Authority’s funding structure should be strengthened to enable it to discharge its regulatory responsibilities effectively.
Najomo stressed that while the NCAA supports adequate funding for all aviation agencies, any additional financial support for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) should come through improved utilisation of its numerous commercial revenue streams, enhanced operational efficiency, better corporate governance and, where necessary, targeted government support for critical infrastructure.
According to him, “It is on this note that the NCAA respectfully requests that this honourable committee champion the return to the original vision that drove the establishment of the NCAA and NAMA in 1999. We submit that the NCAA’s allocation of the five per cent TSC be restored to 65 per cent to overcome the deficiencies identified by ICAO at its last audit and bring Nigeria in line with global best funding practices.”
The DGCA argued that the NCAA remains heavily dependent on the Ticket Sales Charge, with about 80 per cent of its revenue coming from the levy, while NAMA generates about 75 per cent of its income from commercial and operational activities, leaving the TSC to account for only about 25 per cent of its earnings.
According to him, NAMA also benefits from the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) fund for infrastructure development, a funding source unavailable to the NCAA.
Najomo noted that NAMA has no fewer than 16 statutory commercial revenue streams, including overflight and en-route charges, terminal navigation fees, calibration services, telecommunications, consultancy services, airspace violation fines, property rentals, obstacle evaluation fees and air traffic services at private and state aerodromes.
He said these commercial mechanisms are consistent with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) funding model for Air Navigation Service Providers.
The NCAA boss maintained that any review of the country’s aviation funding framework should align with ICAO policies, international best practices and Nigeria’s obligations under the Chicago Convention.
He explained that the Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sales Charge were established to ensure that the aviation industry supports the cost of safety regulation, while the NCAA also bears responsibility for Nigeria’s mandatory financial contributions to international and regional aviation organisations, including ICAO, the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety & Security Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO) and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC).
Najomo said these obligations are recognised under ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP), particularly Protocol Question 2.051, which assesses whether a country has adequate financial resources to sustain its safety oversight authority.
He distinguished the NCAA’s regulatory mandate from the operational responsibilities of agencies such as NAMA, noting that while the NCAA exists to regulate the aviation industry in the public interest, air navigation service providers are established to deliver operational services to airlines.
He recalled that Nigeria recently recorded an Effective Implementation score of 91.3 per cent during ICAO’s safety oversight audit but noted that the country scored only 50 per cent in the area of financial resources supporting the State Safety Oversight System.
By Leadership.
