NCAA Unveils Digital Platform To End Licensing Delays

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has announced plans to fully digitise its personnel licensing and certification processes, marking a major shift from its longstanding manual and paper-based system.

The new digital platform, scheduled to take effect from July 2, 2026, will cover pilots, engineers, medical personnel and other aviation professionals.

The initiative is designed to eliminate the prolonged delays and bureaucratic bottlenecks that have historically hindered the issuance, renewal and certification of aviation licences in Nigeria.

Speaking on Tuesday during the unveiling of the Modern Personnel Licensing and Certification, NCAA Digital Transformation Initiative PEL/MED Stakeholder Engagement at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, the Director General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, said the reform would end the era of excessive waiting for aviation licences.

Najomo described the project as a critical milestone in the NCAA’s broader reform agenda, stressing that Nigeria’s aviation industry must align with global standards in an increasingly technology-driven sector.

Najomo said, “Personnel licensing in America is key to airline operators. It is very important. This is what pertains everywhere in America and other advanced aviation systems.

“I am sure airline operators are asking, ‘When are we going to start? When are we going to stop waiting one week, two weeks, sometimes one month for licences to come out?’ But I tell you, it is going to be over soon. There will be no more waiting.”

He explained that the digital transformation initiative would introduce transparent online processes for licence issuance, renewal and conversion, while enabling applicants to monitor the progress of their applications in real time.

According to Najomo, the platform will also feature biometric-backed credentials and QR-code-based licence verification, in line with international best practices, to improve security, transparency and data integrity.

He noted that global aviation regulation has moved beyond fragmented databases, semi-automated systems and paper-driven workflows, with modern oversight increasingly dependent on digital systems and real-time verification.

“The deployment of this digital licensing and medical certification platform represents the first phase of the NCAA’s wider digital transformation programme,” he stated.

Najomo added that future phases would extend digital reforms to Air Operator Certificate processing, Approved Training Organisations, Approved Maintenance Organisations, aerodrome certifications, air navigation service providers, ground handling organisations and dangerous goods approvals.

He also revealed that the authority had already made significant progress in reducing delays in the issuance of Air Operator Certificates.

He said, “Before now, obtaining an AOC could take between one and two years. We reduced that timeline to between six and eight months, and with this digital platform, we are looking at reducing it further to about 90 days.”

The NCAA boss further disclosed that the platform would expand into technical certification areas such as aircraft registration, airworthiness certification, aircraft maintenance programme approvals, export and import certification of airworthiness, supplemental type certificates and airworthiness directive monitoring.

In his welcome address, the Director of Airworthiness Standards, Engr. Godwin Balang, said the implementation of the MPLC project would bring an end to paper-based aviation certification in Nigeria.

Balang emphasised that effective oversight in the aviation industry can no longer rely on manual processes, particularly in a sector where speed, compliance, safety and precision are essential.

Balang said, “What we are going to find with my team is not something you can use paper files to do. You need systems. That is why we are gathered here today.

“The Director-General has picked this project, and within two years, he has moved it from where he met it to where it is today. What you are seeing on the screen is the landing page of the software we are talking about.”

He explained that the MPLC system would incorporate multiple integrated modules, including central operations, personnel licensing, technical records and organisational approvals, all aimed at streamlining oversight across the aviation industry.

“It has a central module, personnel licensing module, technical records module and organisational approvals module. This is a very big area,” Balang explained.

Balang also disclosed that the NCAA had partnered with international technical experts and benchmarked global best practices to ensure smooth implementation.

As part of the preparations, he revealed that NCAA officials recently travelled to South America for a five-day technical engagement focused on the deployment and operationalisation of the MPLC project.