The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has unveiled plans to fully digitalise the licensing and certification process for pilots, engineers, medical personnel and other aviation professionals, in a major reform aimed at eliminating bureaucratic delays and modernising regulatory oversight across Nigeria’s aviation industry.
The new digital platform, scheduled to commence operations on July 2, 2026, will replace the authority’s long-standing manual and paper-based licensing system, which industry stakeholders have repeatedly criticised for causing prolonged delays in licence issuance, renewals and certifications.
The initiative, known as the Modern Personnel Licensing and Certification (MPLC) Digital Transformation Project, was formally presented during a stakeholder engagement session held at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, described the reform as a critical step in aligning Nigeria’s aviation sector with global best practices and improving efficiency within the regulatory system.
According to Najomo, the current era of aviation oversight requires technology-driven systems capable of delivering real-time verification, transparency and faster processing timelines.
He said the new platform would eliminate the excessive waiting periods traditionally associated with aviation licensing in Nigeria.
“Airline operators have often asked when the delays in licensing would end. Sometimes applicants wait one week, two weeks or even one month before licences are issued. That era is coming to an end. There will be no more waiting,” Najomo said.
He explained that the digital system would provide transparent online application processes for licence issuance, renewal and conversion, while enabling applicants to monitor the progress of their applications in real time.
The platform will also introduce biometric-backed credentials and QR-code-based licence verification to strengthen security, improve data integrity and reduce the risk of document fraud within the industry.
Najomo noted that the digital licensing platform represents only the first phase of the NCAA’s broader digital transformation agenda, which will eventually extend to Air Operator Certificate (AOC) processing, Approved Training Organisations, Approved Maintenance Organisations, aerodrome certifications, air navigation service providers, ground handling organisations and dangerous goods approvals.
He further disclosed that the authority had already reduced the timeline for obtaining an Air Operator Certificate from between one and two years to about six to eight months, with plans to cut the process further to approximately 90 days once the digital system becomes fully operational.
“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,” he said.
The NCAA boss added that the digital transformation would also cover technical certification processes such as aircraft registration, airworthiness certification, aircraft maintenance programme approvals, export and import certification of airworthiness, supplemental type certificates and monitoring of airworthiness directives.
In his remarks, the Director of Airworthiness Standards, Engr. Godwin Balang, said the implementation of the MPLC project would effectively bring an end to paper-based aviation certification processes in Nigeria.
Balang stressed that modern aviation oversight could no longer rely on manual systems, particularly in an industry where safety, speed, compliance and operational precision are essential.
“What we are going to achieve cannot be managed with paper files. You need systems. This project has moved significantly within the last two years, and what stakeholders are seeing now is the operational landing page of the software,” he said.
He explained that the MPLC system contains several integrated modules, including central operations, personnel licensing, technical records and organisational approvals, all designed to streamline regulatory oversight and improve operational efficiency across the aviation sector.
Balang also disclosed that the NCAA had partnered with international technical experts and benchmarked global aviation digitalisation standards to ensure smooth implementation of the platform.
According to him, officials of the authority recently travelled to South America for a five-day technical engagement focused on the deployment and operationalisation of the new system as part of preparations for the July rollout.
