CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended 10 private jet operators over their failure to commence recertification process.
The Authority justified its action by citing the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023 Part 18.3.4 which forbids holders of Permit for Non-commercial Flights (PNCF) from using their aircraft for carriage of passengers , cargo or mail for hire or reward, which is commercial operation or charter service.
In a statement made available to THISDAY and signed by Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, NCAA stated, “As a result of flagrant disregard of this rule, the NCAA had earlier directed all holders of PNCF to undergo re-evaluation which should have been concluded by the 19th of April 2024.
“To this end, the NCAA has suspended the permit for noncommercial flights of Azikel Dredging Nigeria Ltd, Bli-Aviation Safety Services, Ferry Aviation Developments Ltd, Matrix Energy Ltd, Marrietta Management Services Ltd, Worldwide Skypaths Services, Mattini Airline Services Ltd, Aero Lead Ltd, Sky Bird Air Ltd and Ezuma Jets Ltd.”
The regulatory body also stated that the public is hereby notified that it is illegal to engage PNCF holders for commercial purposes.
“The NCAA will not hesitate to initiate enforcement actions against any PNCF holder found guilty of illegal operations,” the authority warned.
In addition, it said that NCAA officials have been deployed to General Aviation Terminals (GAT) and private wings of the airports to monitor activities of the PNCF holders.
Last week, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, revealed that some private jet owners use their aircraft for money laundering and drug trafficking.
Also, since last year, NCAA had warned that private jets that operate on PNCF should not engage in charter services and this was in response to incidents involving private jets, which investigations revealed were under charter service when they recorded those incidents.
