Sade Williams/Business a.m.
Max Air has suspended its domestic flight operations from midnight 31 January, 2025 to allow for an internal appraisal of its operations by its management, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the government regulatory agency, said. The suspension of domestic flights will last for three months.
The downing of domestic flights follows the incident last week when its Boeing 737-400 aircraft with registration 5N-MB flight suffered a nose-wheel collapse which resulted in a burst tyre on landing at Kano airport.
Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s spokesperson, said the NCAA will conduct a thorough safety and economic audit on Max Air during the period of suspension.
He added that the resumption of Max Air’s domestic flight operations will be predicated on the satisfactory completion of the audit.
Achimugu also revealed that the NCAA was already undertaking organisational risk profiles for each scheduled operator, including Max Air, which is nearing its conclusion.
“Statutorily, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has initiated investigation into the occurrence. The NCAA will provide the required support to the NSIB in this regard. It must be stated that the specific cause(s) of this incident can only be established after the NSIB has conducted its investigation. It is instructive to note that the NCAA had commenced organisational risk profiles for each scheduled operator, including Max Air, which is nearing its conclusion. However, as a result of this incident, Max Air is suspending its domestic flight operations for a period of three months with effect from midnight, 31st January, 2025, to allow for an internal appraisal of its operations by its management.
“During this 3-month period, the NCAA will conduct a thorough safety and economic audit on Max Air. The safety audit will entail a re-inspection of Max Air’s organisation, procedures, personnel and aircraft as specified by Part 1.3.3.3(b) of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, while the economic audit will critically examine the financial health of the airline to guarantee its capability to sustain safe flight operations,” Achimugu said.
