The aviation regulatory agency in Nigeria, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has uncovered some unapproved marketers of aviation fuel, popularly known as JET A1, who have infiltrated Nigerian airports and are supplying the commodity to unsuspecting airlines.
The agency made this discovery as it was investigating the source of aviation fuel contamination, which Max Air was a victim recently.
The Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, who disclosed this to aviation correspondents in a Zoom meeting, revealed that the infiltration of unregistered marketers was discovered during a meeting with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission/Department of Petroleum Resources.
According to him, these unregistered fuel suppliers were operating at Nigeria’s airports illegally.
He said the Authority was furnished with a list of approved aviation fuel companies by the DPR, but discovered that some suppliers currently operating at the airports were not on the list.
The agency’s helmsman, however, said the NCAA planned to intimate the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria about the development with a view to barring the illegal operators.
“Investigation is ongoing, we are doing this in collaboration with the DPR and we have got the list of all companies approved by the DPR. We found out that some were not approved, we will write FAAN about this to ensure they withdraw their services until they meet all requirements.
“Every Jet A1 supplier must be approved because it needs a lot of standards. Although, there was a gap between the DPR and NCAA, that has been closed.
“The issue of fuel contamination is not acceptable. No international airline has also reported fuel contamination but it is an alarming thing that needs to be looked into.
“We have set up a committee comprising representatives of relevant agencies to look at the entire system and make recommendations. But, it is still the responsibility of the airline, the pilot to check his fuel”, he explained.
Also, a reliable source, who would not want to be quoted in the NCAA, said the Authority identified the companies involved in the recent sale of contaminated aviation fuel to Max Air.
According to the source, who pleaded anonymity, “The three oil companies that sold the fuel have been identified in the course of its investigation”.

By: Corlins Walter