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Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the stock market.
Recent concerns voiced by Mr Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, regarding the improper use of private jets for unauthorized commercial purposes, have been confirmed.
A government task force, established by the minister and led by Aero Contractors' Managing Director Ado Sanusi, recently presented their initial findings at a press conference in Lagos.
Source: UGC
The investigation revealed that foreign-registered private jets are predominantly responsible for breaching civil aviation regulations related to charter flights.
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Roland Iyayi, the task force spokesperson, reported that their findings indicate a notable increase in private business jets in Nigeria, rising from 44 in 2005 to 157 today—a 357% increase.
He noted that these aircraft have long managed to avoid oversight by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) because of their foreign registration.
The task force also discovered a trend of unlawful charter activities involving not only minor operators but also affluent individuals using their private jets for commercial purposes.
Iyayi noted that foreign-registered aircraft are the primary offenders in these illegal charters, as they fall outside the jurisdiction of the NCAA.
He said:
“When you have a permit for non-commercial flight, it gives you the privilege to operate your aircraft for private purposes. It is an aberration to now take the same aircraft on a PNCF to now put it on somebody else’s AON. What that suggests is that, you deliberately try to flout the provisions of what the regulation says."He added that the operators have been implicated in other illegal practices, such as altering passenger manifests and failing to comply with regulations.
Source: Legit.ng
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