AM EDITORIAL: Illegal Use Of Private Jets For Commercial Services: What Is The Update?
The Ministerial Task Force on Illegal Private Charter Operations and Related Matters inaugurated on June 27, 2024 had in July, released its initial findings, establishing the fact that indeed, some high networt individuals in Nigeria used private jets for commercial services, an illegal conduct the Task Force said had persisted for about 20 years.
Chairman of the Task Force, Capt. Ado Sanusi had said there were indications that some Flight Plans were filed without getting to their destinations and that there were Air Operators Certificate (AOC) holders who collaborated with illegal Permits for Non-Commercial Flights (PHCF) operators to perpetuate the act.
Vice Chairman of the Task Force, Mr. Roland lyayi had said the Task Force spent the first two weeks gathering data and that the coming weeks would feature a review and analysis of the data gathered. He said the federal government had incurred huge loss of revenue over the last two decades and that the Task Force intended to engage the public in its information gathering process to extract information. He said they expected voluntary input from the personnel used for such illegal activities and would not make any conclusion until they had heard from both the industry regulator and operators, adding that they would conduct whistle blowers’ interviews structured in such a way that identities of those providing information would be protected
According to the Task Force, in 2005, there were 44 private business jets in Nigeria but as at July 2024, the figure had increased to 157. There were 62 PNCF operators in the registry of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Task Force had uncovered the prevalence of illegal charter operations and established that there were elements of conflict in the regulatory regime for PNCF operators as there were foreign registered aircraft that did not come under the purview of NCAA registration. Iyayi said that from the data gathered on operations in two years, aircraft used for PNCF were recording 46 flight hours in one month.
The Task Force’s terms of reference were “to take inventory of all PNCF holders and AOC holders, to determine why the practice of illegal charters by PNCF holders persisted in the country despite regulatory controls, to call in all professional licenses of pilots and crew in the country and determine their authenticity and validity, to recommend to the Minister any additional measures to be taken by regulatory agencies to stem this ugly tide, to recommend appropriate sanctions to be imposed by the regulatory agencies on defaulters, to recommend additional measures to further monitor the operations and activities of private aircraft in Nigeria.”
Other members of the Task Force are Director of Air Transport, FMA&AD – Secretary, Theresa A. Babaoye (DATR-NCAA), One Nominee from the National Security Adviser, Capt. Daniel, Capt. Patrick Ogunlowo and Obafemi Bajomo (SA-HMA).
July 2024 to January 2025 is seven months. What is the update on this Task Force and its assignment? Has the illegal use of private jets for commercial services in Nigeria stopped, or at least, abated? Because of the importance of this Task Force and its assignment, we would not like it to end up as one of those government committees without commitment, communication and conclusion. We are not saying it is. The question here is “where are we on the task of the task force?” Industry wants to know. AM
