The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has concluded plans to clamp down on airlines that have made it their duty to covert the regulatory body’s mandatory five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSA).

The NCAA boss, Captain Muhtar Usman made this known at the maiden interaction of all the public relations/information managers of all the parastatals and agencies in the aviation industry.

The TSA is a charge on tickets by passengers for the agencies collected in trust by the NCAA and shared among the agencies: NCAA; Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) as well as the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET).

These monies are charged to passengers and collected by airlines to be remitted to the custodians, NCAA for accurate percentile disbursement.

This will continue until any of the agencies is privatized and would stop receiving from the fund. However, these monies are not being remitted by some airlines which have owed the government over the years thereby forcing NCAA to apply the hammer on such airlines.

The authority said that it would be part of the name and shame game by complementing its position with paid advertorial in five national newspapers as final warning to consistent defaulters.

He said, “We are now ready to commence recrimination of the debtor airlines according to the provision of the law.” He was however miffed by rumour being circulated by debtors about the fund. “I wish to use this opportunity to correct a serious misconception being sold to the public by some airlines.

NCAA has reports that some airlines are purporting that the 5% Ticket Sales Charge is being paid to us from their earnings. This they say is adversely affecting their operations.” “This is absolutely false and a misrepresentation.

The Ticket Sales Charge is content charged in the ticket sold to passengers. The airlines role is to collect and remit to the regulatory authority.” “Let me refer to section 12 (1) of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 which says that “there shall continue to be a 5% air ticket contract, charter and cargo sales charge to be collected by the airlines and paid over to the Authority.”

The NCAA boss said the Regulator would continue to progressively strengthen its oversight responsibilities to entrench safe and secure air transportation in the country.