The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has escalated its fiscal enforcement strategy, placing 11 domestic operators on an updated “No-Pay-No-Service” list.

This enforcement action directly targets carriers that have fallen significantly behind on their statutory financial obligations to the regulator.

At the core of the dispute is the chronic late or non-remittance of the 5% Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC).

Collected by the airlines on behalf of the regulatory bodies, these funds are meant to finance critical safety oversight, personnel training, and general civil aviation economic regulations.

Under this directive, the NCAA is effectively freezing administrative and regulatory support for the defaulting carriers until their balances are cleared or acceptable payment plans are implemented. Affected airlines will face immediate service disruptions from the authority, including.

Director-General Captain Chris Najomo emphasised that while the agency recognises the severe macroeconomic pressures facing operators, it cannot compromise its financial liquidity, adding that late or missing TSC remittances directly hamper the authority’s ability to maintain top-tier safety oversight, risk-based surveillance, and ICAO compliance standards.

An internal memo dated May 22, 2026, directed all NCAA directorates to withhold services from affected airlines pending financial clearance from the Directorate of Finance and Accounts.

The move immediately raised concerns across the industry over the wider implications of unresolved financial obligations within Nigeria’s aviation sector.

Director of Finance and Accounts, Mr Olufemi Odukoya, signed the memo circulated across the authority’s operational departments and regional offices. The directive was also copied to the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), regional managers and other senior officials within the authority.

Airlines named in the directive include Air Peace Limited, Ibom Air Limited, Arik Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines, Umza Air, NG Eagle, Max Air Limited, Caverton Helicopters, Overland Airways, Rano Air and ValueJet. Industry observers said the development reflects mounting financial obligations facing operators amid worsening economic pressures.

Aviation consultant and publisher of Arrival Magazine, Mr Adeola Fadairo, frowned at the airlines’ behaviour.

He said, “The decision by the NCAA to consider withdrawing services from indebted airlines over the non-remittance of statutory charges is not only justified, but it is also long overdue.

“What makes this situation particularly disturbing is that these funds do not belong to the airlines in the first place.”

“The 5% Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) is a statutory levy paid by passengers and collected by airlines in trust for the regulator under the laws establishing the NCAA. Once collected, such monies should be remitted promptly and transparently — not retained to finance operational shortfalls or balance struggling books”.

He further stated that collecting these statutory charges from passengers and deliberately failing to remit the amounts to them is a grave abuse of public trust and corporate responsibility, adding that no airline has the legal or moral authority to appropriate funds meant for aviation safety oversight, consumer protection, regulatory efficiency, and sectoral sustainability.

He added, “The argument that remitting these obligations could worsen the financial condition of airlines is untenable. Financial difficulties, no matter how severe, cannot justify the withholding of public funds.

“Airlines are commercial entities, not custodians of government revenue. If every operator begins diverting statutory deductions to survive operationally, the entire regulatory framework of the aviation industry would collapse.”

“Yes, Nigerian airlines are operating under enormous pressure, particularly due to the rising cost of Jet A1, foreign exchange instability, multiple taxation, and infrastructure limitations.

“But these challenges are global realities affecting operators across different jurisdictions. None of these realities, however, gives any airline the licence to hold on to monies legally due to the regulator.”

He noted that the NCAA itself relies heavily on these remittances to discharge its statutory responsibilities — including safety inspections, consumer protection enforcement, economic regulation, and industry oversight — stressing that weakening the regulator financially ultimately undermines the entire aviation ecosystem and compromises public confidence.

The travelling public must not be blackmailed with subtle threats of operational shutdowns simply because airlines are being asked to fulfil obligations they willingly collected from passengers.”