The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the South African Civil Aviation Authority have signed a landmark deal to achieve unified civil aviation regulation in Africa.
The two civil aviation authorities signed the agreement during the African Aviation Summit in Abuja on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the deal will make Nigeria and South African aviation regulators share safety and security best practices with each other.
It will also streamline regulations to foster smooth flight arrangements between both countries.
The NCAA Director-General, Capt. Musa Nuhu signed on behalf of Nigeria while Ms Poppy Khoza, Director of SACAA signed on behalf of South Africa.
Nuhu said the deal will enhance the flight operations between the two countries to almost be like domestic flights.
He further said that the single regulatory regime in Africa at large would unlock opportunities in aviation to enhance the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) project.
He said SAATM was launched in January 2018 to give fresh impetus to the goal of liberalizing air transport across Africa to fully implement the Yamoussoukro Decision.
SAATM, Musa said, is projected to create 508,750 direct jobs and a 4.2 billion dollars impact on African GDP in the long term.
