Nigerian business charter operators allegedly continue to operate commercial flights with aircraft authorised only for private operations, despite an attempted crackdown on such activities by the federal government. The investigative website Sahara Reporters named Mounthill Aviation Resources (MHH, Abuja) and SkyBird Air (KYC, Lagos) as two offenders.

"Despite the directive issued by the Honourable Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo explicitly prohibiting private-registered jets from being used for charter purposes, such activities remain rampant. It is increasingly evident that several private jets are continuously flown for charters," a source at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) told the outlet.

Another source corroborated this and identified 11 aircraft allegedly used for frequent commercial charters, despite being registered for private operations only. These are:

  • Legacy 600s 5N-ONC (msn 145516, ex-5N-JLA) operated by Jet Support Services, 5N-LRK (msn 14501021) operated by Skyjet Aviation Services, and 5N-FZE (msn 14500873) operated privately;
  • Legacy 650 5N-SJI (msn 14501223) operated privately;
  • BAe-125-800A 5N-BMT (msn 258231) operated by Gyro Air;
  • Hawker 800XPs 5N-CDM (msn 258460) operated by Mounthill Aviation Resources and 5N-AMK (msn 258553) operated by Flints Aero Service;
  • Hawker 850XP 5N-SPL (msn 258984) operated by Jet Support Services;
  • Challenger 604 5N-EGL (msn 5501) operated by Elin Group;
  • Challenger 605 5N-ARA (msn 5913) operated privately;
  • one unidentified aircraft registered as 5N-ELE.

"We will investigate the operators and aircraft that have been mentioned in this piece since their names were specifically mentioned," NCAA Director (Public Affairs and Consumer Protection) Michael Achimugu told ch-aviation, while advising that sources aware of violations should report them to the authority.

Earlier this year, the NCAA grounded ten private jet operators, including SkyBird Air, citing their repeated unsanctioned use of privately-registered aircraft for commercial operations. Aircraft operated commercially are subject to additional tax and more stringent safety inspections.

The two operators named as particularly notorious offenders did not respond to ch-aviation's requests for comment.