The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nnamdi Udoh on Tuesday refuted recent media reports that private jet owners cannot carry their friends and associates in their aircraft.
Mr Udoh, who was a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, said apart from their family members, private jet owners can carry their friends and associate as long as they meet some basic requirements.
He said, “That aircraft owner must have an operations department, who understand what the law of operations means. That aircraft owner must have an airworthiness certificate.”
The other requirements according to the NAMA boss are that the aircraft owner must have an insurance that protect him/her in case of an accident. The jet owner must also submit a manifest.
The long awaited National Civil Aviation Policy, 2013, which took the Federal Government over one year to prepare, was finally unveiled last Friday with severe rules for private jet owners in the country.
The policy barred individuals with private jets from carrying their friends and business associates on board the aircraft, stating that only members of their families are allowed aboard.
It states further that companies with private jets are permitted to carry only their employees or members of the Boards of Directors.
Moreover, the policy also directed that the identities of all passengers on-board any private jet must be made known through a manifest before air traffic control clearance will be sought.
It states, “Approval or clearance from the Director-General, NCAA, will not be required from Nigerians operating non-revenue flights with appropriate insurance policies in the following cases: “For private aircraft owned or leased by individuals, only the family members of the owner/lessee of the aircraft will be permitted on board as passengers; “For private aircraft owned or leased by companies or corporate entities, only the employees and members of the Board of Directors of the company will be permitted on board as passengers.
“For aircraft belonging to non-scheduled or scheduled operators, only the employees and members of the Board of Directors of the company or the corporation may be permitted on board as passengers; all operators will declare the identities of all passengers on non-revenue charter flights in the appropriate general declaration forms prior to obtaining ATC clearance.
“Nigerian carriers operating revenue passenger charter flights will be required to have a current non-scheduled or scheduled operator permit with operations manual that contains flight duty time limitations, which will be strictly monitored on regular basis.”
