Chinedu Eze
The federal authorities is apprehensive in regards to the motion of some pilots in company aviation and helicopter constitution providers in violating regulatory guidelines, which constitutes vital security breach in Nigeria’s airspace, and has outrightly condemned such motion.
Expressing the priority of authorities, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is having drawback with non-public jet operators who don’t abide by the regulation by rebuffing directives set as much as information pilots to function safely.
The matter got here to the fore in Lagos in the course of the 2026 Alliance for Hydromet Development Annual Meeting organised by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) when it was talked about that some pilots of non-public jets and plane constitution providers don’t avail themselves of climate report from the company earlier than working their plane.
Pilots and flight crew in Nigeria are mandated by rules from NCAA to acquire satisfactory departure, en-route and vacation spot climate briefings and reviews from NIMET aerodrome meteorological workplaces previous to flight operations.
The minister, on the assembly mentioned: “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 famous that personal jet pilots weren’t like industrial airline pilots who strictly observe the regulation, noting that the federal authorities is critically taking a look at methods to implement enterprise aviation pilots to additionally observe the foundations.
“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 mentioned.
It was within the bid to make the operators in company aviation to observe the foundations that prompted Keyamo to inaugurate seven-man ministerial activity drive committee to crack down on unlawful non-public chartered operations, non-commercial flight violations, and associated safety dangers in Nigeria.
Speaking, the Director General and CEO of NIMET, Professor Charles Anosike, confirmed that the company provides each pilot and airline entry to on-time climate reviews by offering them with e-folder, which they’ll entry with their cellphone or browser.
It was learnt that NIMET gives climate reviews and briefings to pilots and airways by way of digital platforms, centralized meteorological providers, and aerodrome briefing workplaces.
NiMet changed handbook paper strategies with a digital e-Flight Folder net and pill software. It provides pilots and airways digital entry to real-time climate reviews, flight plans, NOTAMs (Notices to Air Missions), and maps immediately on tablets or Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs).
NiMet additionally 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 info.
Also, pilots can go to bodily Aerodrome Meteorological workplaces and forecast centres positioned at main Nigerian airports to acquire pre-flight en-route and vacation spot climate briefings.
NiMet publishes and distributes specialised bulletins overlaying climate warnings, alerts, aerodrome reviews, flight route forecasts, and wind/temperature knowledge to help flight operations.
Weather report could be very vital in air journey. In Nigeria, official accident investigations have repeatedly linked aviation incidents and deadly crashes to pilots ignoring or failing to stick to climate advisories.
Reports by the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) (now the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB) revealed that some pilots bypass obligatory pre-flight climate briefings or disregard warnings from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and air site visitors management towers.
Past tragedies such because the 2005 ADC and Sosoliso crashes, the Bellview incident, and smaller coaching or home flights, highlighted how pushing by way of opposed climate as a substitute of choosing delays, diversions, or returning to the origin airport created catastrophic dangers.
Few years in the past, AIB (now NSIB) revealed that pilots’ non adherence to climate reviews was the prime trigger of some air accidents previously.
A senior official in cost of Aero Met on the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), advised THISDAY in a phone interview that some pilots don’t abide by the foundations, which stipulate that earlier than take off, they need to undergo the climate briefing.
The chairman of the ministerial activity drive committee on unlawful non-public chartered operations and the Managing Director of Aero Contractors, Captain Ado Sanusi, emphasised the significance of pilots to maintain abreast with climate reviews for their very own security.
Sanusi mentioned there was no pilot that might take off with out correct climate 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 mentioned.
Sanusi added that for industrial operations, airways have dispatch unit within the Operations Control Center (OCC) that often have the climate info prepared, digitised and despatched 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 mentioned.
Sanusi reiterated that it’s within the curiosity and security of the pilot to get the climate package deal, however famous that the explanation why some of the non-public jet pilots don’t search to get the climate package deal is as a result of the place they put of their flight plan that they’re flying to will not be actually the place they’re 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 additional mentioned.
It is expedient that NCAA applies extra stringent measures to curb the excesses of some non-public jet operators.
