By Dickson Omobola
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has said it is looking into certifying China’s C919 jet for domestic carriers.
Director General of NCAA, Capt Chris Najomo, told Reuters at the United Nations, UN, aviation agency’s assembly in Montreal, Canada.
According to Reuters, Najomo said: “We are looking at the certification of the airplane. First of all, that is where we have to start.”
Reuters further stated that “Najomo said COMAC officials had offered maintenance and training support for any planes operated by Nigerian carriers, and was exploring so-called dry lease arrangements, which involve leasing aircraft without crew.”
Najomo was quoted saying: “We just told them that if they can make sure they facilitate a good dry lease arrangement, it’s better.”
In the report, “the civil aviation authority’s director general, Capt Chris Najomo, told Reuters the agency is considering the months-long certification process for the jet to operate on domestic routes, noting the absence of validation from Western regulators.
“Chinese planemaker COMAC is producing the narrow-body C919 to compete with leading Western planemakers Airbus and Boeing have held several talks with Nigeria over the aircraft.
“However, state-owned COMAC, which hopes to access the wider African market, faces challenges. Its two plane models lack benchmark certifications from Western regulators, and it is falling behind on delivery targets. The United States this year temporarily halted exports of the engines it uses on the C919 due to trade conflicts.”
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