The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has joined forces with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to begin a major transition away from PFAS-containing firefighting foams at Nigerian airports.
The initiative, being driven under the ICAO/UNEP Fortifying Infrastructure for Responsible Extinguishment (FIRE) Project, is aimed at replacing fluorinated firefighting foams with safer, fluorine-free alternatives without compromising aviation safety.
The NCAA Director General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Najomo, disclosed Nigeria’s commitment to the initiative during a strategic meeting with the ICAO/UNEP FIRE Project delegation on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at the NCAA headquarters in Abuja.
Najomo said the project was coming at a critical time as the global aviation industry intensifies efforts to combine stringent safety standards with environmental responsibility.
He said the initiative would support feasibility studies and the development of phase-out plans for selected Nigerian airports, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and Port Harcourt International Airport.
The NCAA boss pledged the authority’s full cooperation with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), ICAO, UNEP, the Federal Ministry of Environment and other stakeholders to ensure that the transition is carried out safely and effectively.
The move could mark a significant shift in Nigeria’s airport firefighting operations, where specialised foams are critical to emergency response but some formulations containing PFAS have raised growing environmental concerns.
FAAN Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, represented by the General Manager, Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Services, Mr. Rimdap Nantim, also threw FAAN’s weight behind the project.
Kuku described the transition as an important step towards making airport firefighting operations more environmentally sustainable, while warning that safety must remain at the heart of the process.
She called for stronger collaboration among all relevant agencies and stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria does not compromise firefighting effectiveness while moving towards fluorine-free alternatives.
Providing details of the programme, FIRE Project Coordinator, Mr. Eike Peltzer, said the initiative is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with approximately $10 million committed across five African countries—Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
Peltzer said the 60-month project would cover about 40 airports across the participating countries and focus on four major areas: development of regulatory frameworks, transition from PFAS-containing firefighting foams, knowledge management and training, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
He explained that replacing the existing foams would require extensive assessment of firefighting systems and equipment to ensure that the alternatives can meet applicable aviation firefighting performance requirements.
The project will therefore support feasibility studies, phase-out planning and specialised training as Nigeria prepares for the transition.
The technical mission is expected to move beyond Abuja, with physical inspections scheduled for airports in Lagos and Port Harcourt to assess existing firefighting systems and infrastructure.
The inspections are expected to provide critical information for Nigeria’s phase-out strategy and help determine how fluorine-free firefighting technologies can be deployed without weakening emergency response capabilities.
The NCAA said its collaboration with ICAO, UNEP, FAAN, the Federal Ministry of Environment and other stakeholders would be crucial to ensuring that Nigeria’s aviation sector achieves the transition while maintaining the highest possible standards of fire safety.
