Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has placed 11 domestic airlines on a “No‑Pay‑No‑Service” list over unpaid statutory charges. The directive is contained in an internal memo dated 22 May 2026, signed by the Director of Finance and Accounts, Mr. Olufemi Odukoya, and circulated to all the authority’s directorates and regional offices.
The sweeping enforcement affects almost every major operator in the country, including Air Peace, Ibom Air, Arik Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Umza Air, NG Eagle, Max Air, Caverton Helicopters, Overland Airways, Rano Air and ValueJet.
At the heart of the dispute is the non‑remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC). These are statutory deductions that airlines make from ticket and cargo sales, which they are meant to pass on to the NCAA to fund safety oversight, personnel training and economic regulation of the sector.
The memo, which has been widely shared within the aviation industry, states: “The DGCA has directed that no directorate should render any service to the above airline without financial clearance from the director of finance and accounts”. Consequently, the affected carriers risk immediate interruptions in access to regulatory approvals, certifications, renewals and other administrative services that are essential for continued flight operations.
The NCAA’s move is the latest in a series of enforcement actions that began with the introduction of a “Zero Debt Strategy” in January 2026. The strategy required airlines to provide Advance Payment Guarantees (APG) to the regulator, in a bid to halt the spiral of indebtedness that has crippled the authority’s own operations. Mr. Olufemi Odukoya, the NCAA’s Director of Finance and Accounts, has been at the forefront of coordinating that programme.
Only a month before the memo, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved a 30‑per‑cent reduction in the charges payable by domestic airlines to aviation agencies, as a palliative for the sector. However, that discount has not yet been implemented, because the NCAA said it required further consultations with airlines and the other agencies.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ibom Air, George Uriesi, responded to the development by pointing to the harsh operating environment. In an interview with The Punch, he noted that the price of aviation fuel had tripled within a few weeks, upending all financial models. “Your business model is turned upside down… the costs of purchasing fuel to keep flying suddenly take virtually all the sales you’re making on a daily basis,” he said. He warned that, far from poor management, most domestic carriers are struggling to stay airborne under the same “oxygen mask” conditions – meaning they can only pay the most immediate bills to keep flying.
On the other hand, the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, argued that the NCAA’s approach could be counter‑productive. He told ThisDay that the authority offers safety‑critical services; if those services are withdrawn, airlines cannot operate, and without operations they cannot generate revenue to pay their debts. He called for other, less draconian forms of sanction.
Industry observers have noted that the enforcement action comes at a time when the sector is already reeling from foreign exchange scarcity, high jet fuel costs and a sharp drop in passenger purchasing power. Some fear that if the dispute is not resolved quickly, the affected airlines may be forced to suspend flights or even collapse, leading to job losses and a major disruption to domestic connectivity.
The NCAA’s internal memo gives no grace period. It states that all directorates must refuse service to the named airlines until they obtain a “financial clearance” from the Directorate of Finance and Accounts. No aggregate figure for the total debt has been officially released, but sources close to the matter say it runs into billions of naira.
The authority’s Director‑General, Capt. Chris Najomo, has stressed that the NCAA understands the economic realities facing operators, but cannot compromise its own financial stability, which relies on the timely collection of TSC and CSC. The ball is now in the court of the affected carriers: they must either pay up, negotiate a payment plan or face the prospect of being gradually grounded.
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