At least 11 people are confirmed dead after a civilian aircraft crashed Sunday near the eastern French town of Tomblaine.

The plane crashed near the airport in Tomblaine, triggering an emergency response and a security cordon around the crash site, authorities said.

Rescue and investigation teams began working and police asked people to stay away from the area.

The plane was a parachuting school aircraft and was carrying skydiving participants at the time of the crash, local media reported.

All 11 people aboard were killed in the crash, the prefecture said.

Among the victims were the pilot, five student skydivers and five instructors.

The French Interior Ministry said the country’s Interior Minister was on his way to the crash site to assess the situation and coordinate the government’s response.

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The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended for now its earlier communicated “No Pay, No Service” directive against airlines with outstanding statutory remittances.

The Authority said the decision followed extensive consultation across the aviation industry and a careful assessment of current operating realities, especially the rising cost of aviation fuel and its effect on airline operations and the overall stability of the sector.

The Authority notes that the suspension is not a cancellation, waiver or forgiveness of the statutory financial obligations of the airlines involved and that making such a decision is well outside the Authority’s scope of authority.

The Authority also reminded that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had earlier approved a 30 percent discount on outstanding fees owed by domestic airlines to aviation agencies including the NCAA.

The approval was announced by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to cushion the impact of the high cost of Jet A1 fuel, stabilise the aviation industry and safeguard airline operations.

The NCAA said the operators involved “continue to be fully liable for their statutory obligations.” It said it would pursue structured engagements with individual airlines to ensure debt recovery in a manner that supports both regulatory compliance and industry stability.

On the nature of the 5% percent Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge, the Authority said the charge was a statutory requirement under the Civil Aviation Act and a component of the cost of air travel and cargo services in Nigeria. It said the funds were collected by airlines at the point of ticket and cargo sales on behalf of the aviation ecosystem and were expected to be remitted to the NCAA for designated purposes.

The Authority stressed that the charge is not airline operating profit or revenue and should not be viewed as such.

“The remitted funds are shared between the NCAA and other major aviation service providers who are responsible for safe, efficient and internationally compliant aviation operations,” it also noted.

The NCAA also stated that it operates on a cost-recovery basis and does not receive direct Federal Government funding for its day-to-day regulatory activities, thus requiring statutory charges to fund its oversight functions.

The statement described the suspension of the “No Pay, No Service” measure as a calibrated step aimed at maintaining operational stability in the aviation sector, while negotiations continue towards the full settlement of outstanding obligations.

The NCAA said its decision balances regulatory enforcement with the need to avoid industry disruptions in aviation, while upholding the principle that statutory charges already collected by airlines must be remitted for their intended uses.

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The former terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, which is presently undergoing multibillion-naira renovations, has apparently been completely destroyed by a fire breakout.

The cause and extent of the fire were still unclear at the time this report was filed.

The impacted terminal is a part of the continuous infrastructure modernization projects at the airport.

Officials had not yet released a formal comment on the incident, however it was reported that emergency services had arrived at the location.

This development occurs almost two years after the same airport’s international wing experienced a fire issue.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria revealed on September 6, 2023, that a smoke issue occurred at Terminal 1 of the airport due to a suspected electrical spark in the baggage hall ceiling.

The authorities said that a burning lithium-ion battery installation in the basement was the cause of the smoke.

As officials evaluate the situation at the old terminal, more updates are anticipated.

In other developments, the people who live in the Woro community in Kwara State’s Kaiama Local Government Area have accused Nigerian Army personnel who were sent in following a deadly terrorist attack of not pursuing suspected assailants into neighboring forests.

Instead, the locals claimed that soldiers set up roadblocks throughout the neighborhood, harassing and extorting drivers.

The allegations come weeks after alleged Boko Haram militants carried out a concerted attack that killed at least 162 civilians and terrified the nearby communities.

The soldiers did not move into the forests where the assailants were thought to be hiding, according to a Woro resident who spoke to SaharaReporters.

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