The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which arrived in the country last Sunday, on Thursday concluded the first round of the audit of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), with a view to granting Nigeria the elusive Category One aviation status.

The leader of the four-man team, Greg Michael, briefing journalists before their departure, said the preliminary report of the audit will be forwarded to the Nigerian airlines regulatory agency within three weeks. Other members of team are Mark Bury (Attorney), Rafael Burgos (Airworthiness) and John Thiem (Operations).

The scaling of the hurdle will pave way for the three Nigerian carriers, Virgin Nigeria, Bellview and Arik to commence flight operations into the U.S. with their equipment. Pending the conclusion of the assessment, which might take two years, the three national carriers could begin operations into America, with a condition that they lease aircraft from Category One certified countries.