Illegal charter flight operations have thrived in Nigeria for 50yrs – Keyamo 

Festus Keyamo, Aviation and Aerospace Development, has said illegal flight charter operations have thrived in Nigeria for 50 years.

Speaking at the Federal Ministry of Information & National Orientation 4th Edition of the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, Keyamo said that 80 percent of private jets operate commercially under private licenses. This practice has cost the federal government approximately ₦120 billion in lost revenue over the past decade.

Keyamo described the trend as a “hydra-headed monster” and vowed to tackle it headlong. “This has been happening for 40 to 50 years,” he said.

“When I came in, people told me, ‘Minister, don’t bother yourself. These are the big men who own Nigeria. You cannot tackle them.’ But I said no. I am built to fight this by nature, and I will not let it go.”

Keyamo explained that when aircraft are brought into Nigeria, owners are required to obtain a license from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), adding that the license specifies whether the aircraft is for private use (Private Non-Commercial Flight – PNCF) or commercial charter operations.

“The PNCF license is for private use – for your directors, your family, and social or business events. It attracts a very small fee,” Keyamo said.

“But if you tell the NCAA that you want to use the aircraft for commercial charter operations, like a taxi service, where you charge people $10,000 to fly to Calabar and back, you pay a much higher fee.”

However, the minister revealed that 80 percent of private jet owners obtain the PNCF license but use their aircraft for commercial operations daily.

“They go and obtain the PNCF license, the private one, but all of them are back every day for business. All of them,” he emphasized. “This is how the federal government has been losing revenue.”

Beyond financial losses, Keyamo highlighted the grave security risks posed by unregulated private charter operations. Many private jets fly in and out of the country without proper documentation or passenger manifests, making it difficult to track who or what is on board. “You don’t even have the manifest of those inside the aircraft,” he said.

“Sometimes, when there’s a near accident with a private jet, we struggle to find out who was inside. It’s unregulated.”