NCAA suspends private jet operators over misuse of permit

Due to misuse of their permissions, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspended the licences of three private aircraft operators on Tuesday.

Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, issued an order in 2023 prohibiting the carrying of people, freight, or mail for profit or reward. This order also halted the issuance of new permits for non-commercial flights (PNCF). 

The NCAA then reminded holders of the PNCF permit in March 2024 not to transport passengers or mail for rent or reward.However, a press release signed by Capt.

Chris Najomo, the interim director general of NCAA, stated that in order to further sanitise the general aviation industry, he ordered that all PNCF holders have their evaluations reevaluated by April 19, 2024, at the latest, to ensure compliance with legal criteria.

He states that within the next 72 hours, all holders of PNCFs must provide the Authority with the necessary documentation.

“The Authority has 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 are 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 holder 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,” NCAA stated.

But Najomo emphasised that only aircraft included in the AOC's Operation Specifications are permitted to be used for offering these kinds of charter services.

Source