Three private jet operators’ permits have been suspended by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over suspected commercial flying activity.
In a riot act read to all airlines today, Chris Najomo, the acting director general of the National Airlines Association, made the statement on Tuesday.
According to the NCAA president, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, issued an order in 2023 prohibiting the use of private aircraft for business travel.
However, despite this order, the operators, according to him, persisted in engaging in such activities.
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“Subsequently, in March 2024, the NCAA had issued a stern warning to holders of the permit for non commercial flights, PNCF, against engaging in the carriage of passenger cargo or mail for hire and reward,” Najomo stated.
He added: “The Authority had also deployed its officials to monitor activities of private jets at terminals across the airports in Nigeria.
“As a consequence of this heightened surveillance, no fewer than three private operators have been found to be involved in violation of the annexure provision of their PNCF and Part 9114 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023.
“In line with our zero tolerance for violation of regulations, the Authority has suspended the PNCF of these operators.”
The regulatory body has also mandated that a reassessment of all non-commercial flight permit holders must be completed by April 19, 2024.
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It said: “All PNCF holders will be required to submit relevant documents to the authority within the next 72 hours.
“This riot act is also directed at existing Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holders, who utilise aircraft listed on their PNCF for commercial charter operations.”
The regulator stressed that only aircraft listed in the AOC’s Operation Specifications were authorised to provide such charter services.
“Any of those AOC holders who wish to use the aircraft for charter operations must apply to the NCAA to delist the affected aircraft from the PNCF and include it into the AOC operations specification,” the NCAA noted, urging the travelling public not to patronise any airline charter operator who does not hold a valid Air Operators Certificate issued by the NCAA.
