The illegal use of private jets for commercial flights

AVIATION is one of the most risk-prone economic sectors. That is why global standards must never be compromised. And the onus is on the government to sanitise the sector and ensure the safety of air travel. Authorities of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have, for the umpteenth time, raised the alarm about some unscrupulous private jet owners indulging in commercial operations contrary to their operational limits. Consequently, the authorities wielded the big stick against three private jet owners accused of flouting the Permit for Non-Commercial Flights (PNCF).  The acting Director-General of the NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, said that his agency clamped down on the PNCFs of three private jets accused of indulging in commercial operations. Captain Najomo, who withheld the identities of the said operators, accused them of violating the provisions of their PNCF and Part 9114 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023.

Last year, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), directed the NCAA to stop the use of private jets for commercial purposes. Accordingly, the agency, in March this year, warned holders of PNCFs to limit their operations to the scope of their licences. Going by the rules, they are barred from the airlift of passenger, cargo or mail for hire and reward. To guarantee compliance with the directive, the statement said the NCAA was deploying its officials to monitor the activities of private jets at terminals across Nigerian airports. The agency added that failure to comply within the specified timeframe would attract appropriate sanctions, including suspension or revocation of permits since such infractions bordered on the integrity and safety of the aviation sector. Sadly, the directive was ignored by a few stakeholders that fall under the category of operators.

“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 violations of regulations, the authority has suspended the PNCF of these operators. To further sanitise the general aviation sector, I have directed that a re-evaluation of all holders of PNCF be carried out on or before April 19, 2024, to ascertain compliance with regulatory requirements. All PNCF holders will be required to submit relevant documents to the authority within the next 72 hours.” Under the new directive, Air Operator Certificate holders utilising aircraft listed on their PNCF for commercial charter services were also subject to scrutiny, the DG of NCAA declared.

The regulatory agencies have the task of enforcing the well-defined rules of engagement and operation in the aviation sector. They must do their jobs. Jet owners who fail to comply strictly with the rules and regulations have no excuse; they must face stiff sanctions.  The safety and security of the aviation sector will be imperilled if the outlaws taking advantage of the apparently lax regulatory environment in the aviation sector persist in their crime. It is unconscionable of private jet owners to turn them into kabukabu (taxis) in plain sight. It is an act of economic sabotage that should ideally earn the perpetrators long jail terms. If the private jet owners wish to establish airlines, the law empowers to do within the regulatory framework. What they are not permitted to do is to run private airlines in disguise, robbing the country of the much needed tax revenue. By sojourning outside their areas of jurisdiction, the private jet owners are scoffing at the authority of the Nigerian State. No country intent on witnessing better days can condone that kind of impunity. Indeed, the fact that these jet owners continued in their criminality even after being warned by the NCAA shows that they do not have the slightest interest in obeying the law. It shows that they have become a law unto themselves and their wings must be permanently clipped.

There is obviously a need for a proper investigation into the breach, with appropriate sanctions meted out to the culprits to deter others who might want to operate outside their boundaries. The investigation should determine whether or not the infractions were committed with the connivance of certain officials of the regulatory agencies who are required to be conversant with the mandate of each category of licensees in the aviation industry, and the lines of demarcation. Who gave approval for the deployment of private planes for commercial flights? Who carried out all due checks at all that led to the boarding of passengers and the flight of the aircraft? Why did it take only the NCAA to detect the infractions? Or was there a whistleblower? Did the airlines licensed to operate commercial flights look the other way in the face of the impunity? Whose names were on the manifest of those unauthorised flights? Were the flights necessitated by expediency or emergency and at whose authority? These and many other crucial questions must be answered if the country is to rein in recalcitrant operators in the industry. Undermining the rules of engagement poses severe security risks. Charges should be filed in court and the names of the suspects released to curtail the insinuations that some sacred cows are behind the ugly practice.

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