Nigeria declares 450 planes unsafe to fly

LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Nigerian aviation authorities said they had declared 450 airplanes, including 10 previously used by state-owned Nigerian Airways, unsafe to fly.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said they had removed the craft from the register of planes licensed to fly in Nigeria's airspace.

The NCAA, responding to public concerns over an abysmal air safety record, said in a notice obtained by Reuters on Thursday that the aircraft had been abandoned at various airports in the West African country after crashes or other damage.

"The presence of these aircraft in our register gives an exaggerated figure of the actual size (number) of the aircraft for which the authority has primary safety oversight responsibility," it said.

More than a dozen airline companies have mushroomed in Nigeria since the government broke the monopoly of debt-saddled Nigeria Airways in the mid-1980s.

Since then Nigeria has had a record of frequent, fatal air crashes and many Nigerians have openly expressed doubt about the safety standards for aircraft of the emerging airlines.

Aviation officials said de-registering the planes meant the authority would no longer guarantee their safety standards.

The listed aircraft included five Boeing 737-200 and five Airbus A310-231, previously in the service of the ailing Nigeria Airways.

The NCAA said that, while crashed aircraft would be promptly removed from its register, planes grounded for maintenance, but for which there was no proof of preservation would be de-registered after 12 months.

Earlier this month, the aviation authorities grounded four airline companies which were said to have failed to meet safety regulations.

All but one or two of the new airline companies operate exclusively on domestic routes in the vast country of over 110 million people.

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