The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended the licences of three private jet operators for allegedly engaging in commercial business in contravention of the law.
Chris Najomo, NCAA's acting director-general, said in a statement on Tuesday that the suspended operators had obtained permits to operate the jets for private purposes only, but illegally converted them into commercial vessels.
On Monday, Nigeria's Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said during a television interview that the government was losing revenue through the use of private jets as commercial aircraft.
"When it (permit) is commercial, the money paid to the federal government is so much. So, people now take licences from us, saying: 'I have just bought a private jet, and I want to be using it for my business or to fly my friends and family', and we give them (the licences) at a very low fee," Keyamo told Nigeria's privately-owned television station Channels TV.
Carrying passengers 'all over Nigeria'
"The moment they are given (the licences), they carry passengers all over Nigeria, doing six or eight flights a day," he said, warning that the authorities would launch a crackdown on them, including people close to senior government officials.
The minister said that private jet passenger-safety regulation requirements are low, compared to commercial aircraft, and therefore attract lower permit fees.
The Nigerian government says it has closely been monitoring private jet operations in the country since 2023, and after "heightened surveillance, no fewer than three private operators have been found to be in violation" of Nigeria's civil aviation regulations.
Records show that there are more than 200 private jet owners in Nigeria as of January 2024.
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