LAGOS— The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said that despite the huge number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), otherwise known as drones, none of the equipment falls under the certified category in the country.
The NCAA also debunked the allegation that it costs about N3 million for drone users to register the equipment with the authority, saying that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Niig.CARs) 2023 stipulates only the sum of N5,000 for that purpose.
Engr. Godwin Balang, the Director, Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS), NCAA stated these on Wednesday at the ongoing fifth Drone Technology Expo and Conference at the NIGAV Expo Centre at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
Balang, however, said that the authority was working on applicable standards to regulate the use of drones in the country.
According to him, no drone has been officially certified for operation in the country, stressing that while conventional aircraft undergo type certification, drones were still evolving and lack harmonised global standards for evaluation.
Balang said that some countries that came up with certification for the equipment were already reversing them and mentioned South Africa as one of the countries.
He said: “There is no single drone that falls under the certified category in Nigeria. The implication of that is that you now have to set the rules, know how to control the operations of that category of that aircraft that are not certified and because they are not certified, there are no written standards anywhere.
“If we do understand that, then some of the things that are happening will not come as a surprise. The difficulty in certification, the difficulty in getting pilots certified, and the security challenges that come with that—they all fall within that category of context. But, as a country, we have the responsibility to do something about it.
“As of seven to eight years ago, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) annex on drones has not yet come up. However, coming of the annex does not make any difference because the annex is targeted at certified aircraft.
“When we came in, we had an advisory circular to help do something about this. Before laws are written, people are already doing what they are doing. Some of the countries that were already issuing licences are in reverse. For instance, South Africa used to issue them, but they have reversed it now.”
On the cost of drone registration with the NCAA, Balang denied the purported N3 million claims by some sections of the industry players.
According to him, the Nig. CARs stipulated about N5,000 for its registration with the NCAA.
“I have heard somebody mentioning N3 million or so (for drone registration). This is something that I need to investigate. Drone registration by the regulation 2023 is less than $5.
“It’s about $3 in Nigeria. You can confirm that. It’s about N5,000, and this is documented in the regulation. Unless the regulation is changed tomorrow.”
Also, Balang noted that the minimum requirement for Rate of Climb (ROC) for drone is N800,000, also attributing this to the Nig. CARs 2023 regulations.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT
