The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is considering certifying China’s C919 for domestic use as the country’s airlines expand their fleets and the country deepens its ties with Beijing, director-general Chris Ona Najomo has told Reuters.
"We're looking at the certification of the airplane. First of all, that is where we have to start," Najomo said on the sidelines of the 42nd assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada. He said that the NCAA is considering the months-long approval process despite the aircraft’s lack of validation from Western regulators.
He said that state-owned manufacturer COMAC (Shanghai Pudong) has held talks with Nigerian officials and has offered maintenance, training, and dry lease support to carriers. "We just told them that if they can make sure they facilitate a good dry lease arrangement, it's better," Najomo said.
Meanwhile, NG Eagle CEO Abdullahi Ahmed said that the airline, which currently operates B737s and E145s, would consider COMAC jets if certified.
COMAC aims to rival Airbus and Boeing. However, it faces hurdles in its push into Africa. Its two aircraft models lack certification from major Western regulators, it has missed delivery targets, and earlier this year, trade tensions between the US and China resulted in a temporary ban on exports of the CFM International engines used in the C919.
As previously reported, COMAC has reduced its 2025 delivery target for the C919 from 75 to 25 units due to supply chain bottlenecks.
