Travel News

by  Solomon Ekanem

The Nigerian government has revoked its earlier decision to ground about 60 private jets in the country following the accumulated debts the operators piled up. In a new memo, the Federal Government has given private jet owners a 30-day ultimatum to pay their import duties or risk having their planes impounded.

• Nigerian government reverses decision to ground private jets over accumulated debts
• Private jet owners given a 30-day ultimatum to pay import duties or risk impoundment
• Stakeholders in the aviation sector laud the decision as it will sanitize the sector and boost GDP

According to the Punch, the verification exercise has been extended by one month, and will commence from Monday, 14th October 2024, to Thursday, 14th November 2024.

This decision has brought relief to the private jet owners as they battle to meet up with the government’s schedule concerning the accumulated import duty running into several billions of naira.

Recall the FG had recently threatened to impound as many as 60 private jets over the unpaid import duties. According to documents exchanged between the NCS and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, the enforcement exercise which would see many private jets grounded, was scheduled to commence on October 14th, 2024.

“We were supposed to ground the jets on Monday, but we got another letter from customs requesting that the action be suspended for another month, maybe that is to allow for settlement,” the acting Managing Director of NAMA, Umar Farouk told the Punch.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the nation's aviation regulating authority, had earlier this year, vowed that the federal government would not fail to sanction illegal flights and non-certified personnel in the industry. This followed the trend where private jet owners applied for licenses from aviation regulators to fly family or friends. The private jet operators were then accused of discreetly flying for commercial purposes without the knowledge of the regulator.

The Nigerian Customs Service, on observing this set back in the industry, threatened to ground some of the defaulting private jets owned by very important persons in the country. This led to a one-month verification exercise carried out by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) between June and July 2024.

A statement signed by the Customs Spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, said the extension was to enable the NCS to meet with some of the operators who have expressed willingness to regularize their import duties.

“The NCS is committed to ensuring that all illegally imported aircraft meet the legal requirements, thereby promoting transparency and accountability in the aviation sector.”

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The statement added, “In light of this extension, the NCS encourages aircraft operators to take full advantage of the extended period to fulfil their obligations, avoiding sanctions that may arise from non-compliance after the deadline." the NCS said

Stakeholders in the aviation sector have lauded this development describing it as an idea that will not only sanitize the sector but also boost the aviation industry’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Olumide Ohunayo, industry analyst and director of research, Zenith Travels in a chat with BusinessDay, noted that the Customs and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have lost funds due to the operations of the non-licensed private jets.

“Funds that would have accrued to the government and funds that would have increased aviation contribution to the GDP are leaking badly based on the rules and regulations that have been deliberately and consistently breached by the powerful who could go to the presidency to do their biddings,” Ohunayo noted.