FG: Violation of Regulatory Rules by Aircraft Charter Operators Worrisome

Chinedu Eze

The federal government is worried about the action of some pilots in corporate aviation and helicopter charter services in violating regulatory rules, which constitutes significant safety breach in Nigeria’s airspace, and has outrightly condemned such action.

Expressing the concern of government, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is having problem with private jet operators who do not abide by the regulation by rebuffing directives set up to guide pilots to operate safely.

The matter came to the fore in Lagos during the 2026 Alliance for Hydromet Development Annual Meeting organised by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) when it was mentioned that some pilots of private jets and aircraft charter services do not avail themselves of weather report from the agency before operating their aircraft.

Pilots and flight crew in Nigeria are mandated by regulations from NCAA to obtain adequate departure, en-route and destination weather briefings and reports from NIMET aerodrome meteorological offices prior to flight operations.

The minister, at the meeting said: “We are having serious problems with private jet operators. And you can see that I setup a committee to regulate their activities. They cannot do what they like. And we are finding ways to regulate them more. The scheduled operators that carry lots of Nigerians follow the rules. They are more regulated because we are concerned about the lives of people.”

Keyamo noted that private jet pilots were not like commercial airline pilots who strictly follow the regulation, noting that the federal government is seriously looking at ways to enforce business aviation pilots to also follow the rules.

“But some of these people (private jet operators), because they are the big boys, they are the top-levels, they own private jets, they think they are outside the regulation. But we want to help them to follow the rules,” he said.

It was in the bid to make the operators in corporate aviation to follow the rules that prompted Keyamo to inaugurate seven-man ministerial task force committee to crack down on illegal private chartered operations, non-commercial flight violations, and related security risks in Nigeria.

Speaking, the Director General and CEO of NIMET, Professor Charles Anosike, confirmed that the agency gives every pilot and airline access to on-time weather reports by providing them with e-folder, which they can access with their phone or browser.

It was learnt that NIMET provides weather reports and briefings to pilots and airlines through digital platforms, centralized meteorological services, and aerodrome briefing offices.

NiMet replaced manual paper methods with a digital e-Flight Folder web and tablet application. It gives pilots and airlines virtual access to real-time weather reports, flight plans, NOTAMs (Notices to Air Missions), and maps directly on tablets or Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs).

NiMet also operates a centralized Secure Aviation Data Information Services (SADIS) API platform (run in coordination with the UK Met Office and ICAO). This system-wide platform delivers high-resolution World Area Forecast System (WAFS) datasets and real-time meteorological information.

Also, pilots can visit physical Aerodrome Meteorological offices and forecast centres located at major Nigerian airports to obtain pre-flight en-route and destination weather briefings.

NiMet publishes and distributes specialised bulletins covering weather warnings, alerts, aerodrome reports, flight route forecasts, and wind/temperature data to assist flight operations.

Weather report is very critical in air travel. In Nigeria, official accident investigations have repeatedly linked aviation incidents and fatal crashes to pilots ignoring or failing to adhere to weather advisories.

Reports by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) (now the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB) revealed that some pilots bypass mandatory pre-flight weather briefings or disregard warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and air traffic control towers.

Past tragedies such as the 2005 ADC and Sosoliso crashes, the Bellview incident, and smaller training or domestic flights, highlighted how pushing through adverse weather instead of opting for delays, diversions, or returning to the origin airport created catastrophic risks.

Few years ago, AIB (now NSIB) revealed that pilots’ non adherence to weather reports was the prime cause of some air accidents in the past.

A senior official in charge of Aero Met at the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), told THISDAY in a telephone interview that some pilots do not abide by the rules, which stipulate that before take off, they must go through the weather briefing.

The chairman of the ministerial task force committee on illegal private chartered operations and the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, emphasised the importance of pilots to keep abreast with weather reports for their own safety.

Sanusi said there was no pilot that would take off without proper weather briefing.

“To my knowledge, I don’t think that there is aircraft that has weather forecast instrument on-board because weather forecast is released by the weather station (NIMET in case of Nigeria). When I was flying for Exon Mobile as a private jet pilot, when you file your flight plan, they will also give you the package for weather condition. They give you forecast for what is aloft. That is the level at the time you will be flying. I believe this is still happening,” Sanusi said.

Sanusi added that for commercial operations, airlines have dispatch unit in the Operations Control Center (OCC) that usually have the weather information ready, digitised and sent to the pilots.

“During investigation for our report, we discovered so many illegal operations involving private charter operators. It is true that weather radar is in the aircraft but NIMET has system that updates weather report. The basic information onboard radar can give you include area of high precipitation, which is the area of turbulence, where it is moving and the speed in which it is moving. Some sophisticated radar will show you temperature version, which will enable you to predict turbulence and windshear. It gives windshear, turbulence and microburst alert,” he said.

Sanusi reiterated that it is in the interest and safety of the pilot to get the weather package, but noted that the reason why some of the private jet pilots do not seek to get the weather package is because where they put in their flight plan that they are flying to is not really where they are going.

“Some of the pilots don’t file the right flight plan. Some will say they are flying from Lagos to Abuja, for example, while they are really flying from Lagos to Maiduguri. Our committee witnessed several cases where they filed a wrong flight plan, pretending to be flying locally while they are leaving the country. Some will tell you that they are in Dubai while they are in Nigeria,” he further said.

It is expedient that NCAA applies more stringent measures to curb the excesses of some private jet operators.