The Ministerial Task Force uncovered high-net-worth individuals using private jets for illegal charters, often involving opaque passenger manifesting. They found many of these aircraft are foreign registered, evading close scrutiny by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Hence, Minister Festus Keyamo’s 8-man committee, established on June 27, 2024, is focused on addressing the issues in Private Non-Commercial Flight operations.
Vice Chairman Captain Roland Iyayi outlined how the committee is tackling this three-month assignment. The goal is to eliminate illegal charters and promote safe practices in the aviation sector.
In its preliminary findings, the committee identified several issues, including opaque passenger manifesting and conflicting regulatory issues. Iyayi highlighted that operators often fail to comply with conditions attached to the issuance of the Private Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) certificates, which the NCAA has not enforced.
Opaque passenger manifesting involves withholding certain details about passengers from ground staff, security, and sometimes even the airline’s operational team. This practice conceals key details like names and travel history, using coded or anonymized information in the passenger manifest.
In a telephone interview with NigerianFLIGHTDECK, Iyayi explained that opaque manifesting serves various purposes, including passenger confidentiality and commercial reasons. However, he warned that it can pose significant risks if left unchecked.
He said, “You have the names of all passengers on a flight, including their gender. In some cases, you must indicate whether they are children or adults. However, some operators use fictitious names and data to obscure the true identity of passengers. This can be dangerous, particularly in the event of an attack, as it becomes difficult to identify who was on that flight, except for the crew members.”
Iyayi also noted that conflicting and inadequate regulatory issues allow PNCF holders to subvert the system. PNCF holders can operate their aircraft with just the PNCF license but may also include these aircraft under the Air Operators Certificate (AOC) of another carrier.
He explained, “What they are trying to do is to use the PNCF to conduct commercial flights through the back door. If you have a PNCF, there is no need to use an AOC. If you have an AOC, you don’t need a PNCF. It should be one or the other. The lack of clear regulations allows this conflict to continue.”
Iyayi emphasized that this is a preliminary report. The committee will continue its investigation and communicate further with the NCAA to address these issues. The committee report indicates that in 2005, there were 44 private business jets in the country.
In 2024, however, the number of private business aircraft operating in the country rose to 157 showing a 357% increase within 2 decades. It states that there are 62 PNCF licenses in operation.
