NCAA certified us fit to fly, says Max Air

• Expresses optimistic in NCAA over the recent audit of the operator

Max Air, one of Nigeria’s domestic airlines, has said the airline is committed to safe operations and has been certified fit by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

An Executive Director of the airline, Shehu Wada said in a chat with aviation correspondents, that the airline has absolute confidence in the NCAA over the recent audit of the operator and that the regulatory authority has done a very thorough job.

“What we sell is safety and we pride ourselves on our sincerity and commitment to safe and secure operation which we have guarded jealously from the beginning of our operation.

“We will not allow anybody to drag us back. Our audit is open. We may not be perfect but safety is what we sell. We have been in operation over the last decade without a single accident and that is because we continue to prioritise safety in what we do. We don’t joke about the safety of our passengers and crew,” he said.

He recalled the recent incident involving one of the aircraft of the airline where a huge volume of water was found in the tank, saying it was an isolated case that the airline quickly noticed and decided to ground itself before the NCAA waded in.

According to him, after the NCAA certified the airline to resume operation, it was further grounded to enable it to close other gaps identified in the operation.

He said the NCAA as a responsive and responsible regulatory authority has remained thorough in its regulation of airlines in order to sustain the safety rating of the airline industry in Nigeria internationally.

“The NCAA has certified us and the NCAA would not want anything that would drag it in the mud in the discharge of its operation. When we noticed something was wrong, we were the first to announce we were suspending our operation before NCAA waded in and the NCAA came and was thorough with their findings. When the NCAA noticed something was wrong again, they still grounded us until they verified everything,” he said.

Wada stated that the founder of the airline, Dahiru Mangal, would not be discouraged in his patriotism and commitment to contributing to the development of Nigeria through his investments in various sectors of Nigeria which has earned him recognition beyond the shores of the country.