The Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development has signed the Irrevocable De-Registration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA) to enable domestic airline access dry lease aircraft.
The Minister of Aviation said on Wednesday at the signing that the IDERA is expected to attract financiers in the aviation sector.
Keyamo said the signing of the Cape Town Convention and the signing of IDERA would signal that the aviation industry is safe for their aircraft.
Keyamo said, “Previous governments have ignored this part of our duty in the aviation industry and I am sure that you have seen of late that to unlock the world of aircraft lessors and aircraft financiers across the world, we signed the practice direction guiding the court on how to interpret the Cape Town convention and the protocols.
“We signed that because there was judicial uncertainty before then as to how to treat cases that come before the court requiring the court to intervene when there is a dispute between the lessors and lessee.
“When there was a dispute in the past, it was always a problem on how to resolve it, and the timeframe to resolve was lengthy. That single uncertainty affected our rating in the international communities, and we were blacklisted. They said Nigeria was not a safe place for lessors and financiers to bring their aircraft.”
He said the ministry has settled the judicial aspect by signing the practice direction.
He said, “Thankfully, we have settled the judicial aspect by signing the practice direction and now we are signing the administrative aspect. So, lessors and lessees can either approach the court or the NCAA for their aircraft to be taken out of the country.
“This is a very important step, and it would raise the scores of Nigeria in the world of lessors and financiers, and certain negotiations around the world by our airline operators that are on hold due to our inability to sign IDERA will get approval because we have signed IDERA.”
The Ag. Director General of the NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo said IDERA would boost the operational capacity of Nigerian airlines.
Najomo said, “About registration and operation of aircraft in Nigeria, the main impact of the Convention is the ability of the registered owner to request an Irrevocable De-Registration and Export Request Authorisation (“‘IDERA”) over an eligible aircraft.
“Once an IDERA is recorded, the party that has been declared by the registered owner as the authorised party will be the only party with the right to de-register and export the aircraft”.