The Federal Government has launched a special task force to tackle the growing problem of unauthorized and illegal charter flights within Nigeria\u2019s aviation industry. This initiative, the Ministerial Task Force on Illegal Private Charter Operations and Related Matters, was officially inaugurated by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In a statement on his official X account, Keyamo explained that the task force was created in response to a series of alarming reports on the prevalence of illegal charter operations within the aviation sector. These illicit activities have resulted in significant financial losses for the Federal Government and have raised serious security and safety concerns. The operations of private aircraft owners have largely remained unchecked and unregulated, prompting the need for decisive action.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have since identified problematic issues within the aviation industry that we must tackle headlong. One of such issues is what we are gathered for here today. It has come to my attention, through a series of disturbing reports, that the practice of illegal charter operations is thriving within the aviation industry, thereby undermining the efforts of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other regulatory bodies,\u201d the statement read in part.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn light of these grave concerns and in alignment with two key objectives of our five-point agenda, I am compelled to take this decisive action. Today, I am pleased to announce the establishment of the Ministerial Task Force on Illegal Private Charter Operations and Related Matters,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
The task force has been assigned several critical responsibilities. These include inventorying Private Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holders, investigating persistent illegal charters, verifying pilot licenses, recommending regulatory measures and sanctions, and enhancing the monitoring of private aircraft operations to ensure safety and compliance in Nigeria\u2019s aviation industry.<\/p>\n
The task force members, selected from the aviation industry, include Capt. Ado Sanusi (Chairman), Capt. Roland Iyayi (Vice Chairman), the Acting Director of Air Transport (Secretary), Theresa Babayo (NCAA Director), AVM O. Oyesola (Presidential Air Fleet Commander), Capt. Daniel Quansah, Capt. Patrick Ogunlowo, and Obafemi Bajomo (Special Adviser to the Aviation Minister).<\/p>\n
Keyamo\u2019s statement provided a detailed view of the illegal and unauthorized operations within the country\u2019s aviation sector, revealing that private plane operators are increasingly engaging in bold illegal activities. The National Security Adviser recently alerted the Aviation Ministry in a letter about a rise in the use of private jets for money laundering, drug trafficking, and other illicit activities.<\/p>\n
The statement disclosed that unscrupulous operators are being aided by holders of Air Operator Certificates (AOC), who facilitate these illegal charters by collecting fees and listing them under their legitimate AOCs. Additionally, the Minister highlighted that some crew members involved in these illegal operations have not attended mandatory simulator training for nearly three years and are flying with fraudulently obtained renewed licenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of these individuals operate planes registered under Private Non-Commercial Flights (PNCF) but conduct illegal charter operations with impunity,\u201d Keyamo stated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Federal Government has launched a special task force to tackle the growing problem of unauthorized and illegal charter flights within Nigeria\u2019s aviation industry. This initiative, the Ministerial Task Force on Illegal Private Charter Operations and Related Matters, was officially inaugurated by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Thursday. In a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":36662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36658"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36667,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36658\/revisions\/36667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}