Nigeria imposes 3-month suspension on Max Air after Kano airport incident
The federal government of Nigeria, through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has announced a three-month suspension of operations for Max Air.
This followed a serious incident involving one of its aircraft.
This decision comes after a Boeing 737-400, registered as 5N-MBD, experienced a tyre burst while landing at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport on January 28, 2025, at approximately 10:51 PM.
During this incident, all 53 passengers aboard the flight were safely evacuated without any reported injuries. However, the aircraft was temporarily grounded until the runway was reopened by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at around 8:00 AM the following day.
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This incident marks the third occurrence involving Max Air in just three months, raising significant safety concerns.
In response to this alarming trend, the NCAA has initiated an investigation in collaboration with the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to determine the specific causes of these incidents.
Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, emphasized that understanding the root cause will require thorough investigation by NSIB.
Furthermore, Achimugu noted that prior to this incident, the NCAA had already been conducting organizational risk profiles for all scheduled operators including Max Air. However, due to this latest event, Max Air has decided to suspend its domestic flight operations for three months starting from midnight on January 31, 2025. This suspension is intended to allow for an internal appraisal of its operational procedures.
During this three-month period of suspension, the NCAA will conduct comprehensive safety and economic audits on Max Air. The safety audit will involve re-inspecting various aspects of Max Air’s operations including personnel qualifications and aircraft condition as per Part 1.3.3.3(b) of Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations. The economic audit will assess Max Air’s financial health to ensure it can maintain safe flight operations moving forward.
The resumption of domestic flights by Max Air will be contingent upon satisfactory completion of these audits. The NCAA has acknowledged that this action may cause inconvenience to passengers but reiterated that passenger safety is paramount.
