Following sustained violations of some private jet operations terms of licenses, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has ordered all holders of Permit For Non-Commercial Flights (PNCF) to resubmit their documents for revalidation.
The Acting Director General Civil Aviation, Nigeria Capt. Chris Najomo in an address to the airlines said all private jet owners must submit their documents for revalidation within 72 hours.
“The Authority had also deployed its officials to monitor the 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” the DG stated.
“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” he said.
He said all “PNCF holders must 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” Captain Najomo further indicated.
“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 in the AOC operations specification” he said.
The Authority reiterated to the traveling 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.
He explained that back in 2023, the use of private jets for commercial purposes had gotten the attention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, who issued marching orders to cease such acts.
Subsequently, in March 2024, the NCAA issued a stern warning to holders of the Permit For Non-Commercial Flights, PNCF, against engaging in the carriage of passenger-cargo or mail for hire and reward.
NCAA encouraged the legitimate players in the aviation industry to report the activity of such unscrupulous elements to the Authority promptly for necessary action.
