As anger and disappointment trail the controversial suspension of the operations of Dana Air by the Minister of Aviation, Mr Festus Keyamo, over an incident that involved one of the MD 82 aircraft in the fleet of the airline, which skidded off the Lagos airport runway on Wednesday, more key players have joined in the condemnation of the interference of the minister in the incident.

The latest to join in the condemnation of the role of the minister in the incident is a body of professionals known as the Aviation Round Table (ART), which has expressed its disappointment with the actions of the minister.

In a statement issued by ART, it described the action of the minister as a contradiction to the law and process of doing things under the circumstances.

According to the ART, “The ART hereby expresses its disappointment with the actions of the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Ministry that are contrary to law and process and to the promise of the Minister to respect both law and process and to restore autonomy to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

“The suspension of the entire operations of Dana Airlines directed by the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development runs against these principles and indicates a return to the ugly past that destroys confidence in the industry and in the global community on the principles of an autonomous industry regulator, representing a threat to safety and security in the sector generally.

“ART condemns the external interference demonstrated by the Minister’s directive, which serves to erode institutional autonomy and jeopardise safety in the aviation sector. ART hereby reiterates its commitment to the non-negotiable autonomy of the NCAA as stated in Section 4 (3) of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act

“The conduct of financial audits of airlines lies exclusively with the NCAA. The decisions on what are appropriate sanctions for violations also lie with the NCAA exclusively.

“The ART hereby advises an immediate lifting of the suspension of the entire operation of Dana Airlines and demands an apology to the entire aviation community for the actions taken by the Minister and the Ministry while the NCAA/NNSIB investigation continues on the affected MD 82 aircraft or fleet and the company Dana, for which the NCAA is expected to carry on its role and meet the appropriate actions.”

The group also advised the minister to concentrate his efforts on policy issues that positively impact the airline industry, even as it demands that other agencies be allowed to carry out their statutory obligations without interference, including the observed interferences at FAAN.

ART also requests that the minister move promptly to appoint the required boards to enable the smooth and properly guided operations of agencies.

Before ART’s statement, a former Deputy Secretary General, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, had warned against the danger of undermining the autonomy of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Tukur, in a statement, described the grounding of all the Dana fleet by the Minister of Aviation as an usurpation of the powers of the NCAA.

“The action of the Minister is like putting our civil aviation on a reverse to the era between the late eighties and the early time of the present democratic dispensation when President Obasanjo, for no just course, ordered the grounding of the entire Chanchangi fleet over the Bellview crash.”

He noted that the development was a dangerous signal that must be repealed so that the civil aviation authority would not be relegated to an appendage of the Ministry.

The former AON scribe further described the grounding of DANA, an airline that just scaled through the economic audit of the NCAA, as unfortunate, stressing that it was also happening in the wake of the authority’s successful safety audit and FAA’s category one.

“It’s ironic for Keyamo, who recently complained of high insurance rates and leasing costs faced by the Nigerian operators, to come up with such a hammer on DANA, which gives the impression that our CAA lacks independence and oversight capability.”

Alhaji Tukur further observed that there was likely an aeroplane on the runway because of the rain, saying that it was necessary to have waited for the investigators to come up with the plenary report while only the aircraft involved should have been grounded.