BY Olapeju Olubi
After repeated warnings of private jet permit holders to desist from carrying out commercial operations, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), on Tuesday, suspended the licenses of three recalcitrant private jet operators in a deft move to sanitize that space.
The suspension is on the orders of the Aviation Minister, Mr Festus Keyamo, who insisted that the government was no longer going to tolerate the impunity of the defaulters.
He maintained that private jet operators engaging in the carriage of passenger cargo or mail for hire and reward was totally out of line and an illegality that must not be allowed to flourish.
Keyamo has also ordered the immediate review of Permit for Non Commercial Flights (PNCF) so as to ensure rules of engagement are adhered to.
Consequently, the NCAA has 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. To further sanitize the general aviation sector, I have directed that a re-evaluation of all holders of PNCF be carried out on or before the 19th of April 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.
“This riot act is also directed at existing Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holders, who utilize aircraft listed on their PNCF for commercial charter operations.
“It must be emphasized that only aircraft listed in the Operation Specifications of the AOC are authorized to be used in the provision of 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.
“NCAA wishes to reiterate to the travelling public not to patronize any airline charter operator who does not hold a valid Air Operators Certificate issued by the NCAA, when they wish to procure charter operations services.
“Finally, NCAA encourages the legitimate players in the aviation industry to report the activity of such unscrupulous elements to the authorities promptly for necessary action”, the authority stated in a statement.
