The Federal Government has imposed a fine of N1m on a United Kingdom airplane impounded last week for undertaking illegal commercial operations in Nigeria.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika said the impounded plane and detained crew of Flairjet that engaged in illegal flights in Nigeria have been found to violate Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations.
Mr Sirika who posted this on his Twitter handle noted that the maximum penalty for each of the infractions was N500,00, totalling N1 million naira.
Last Sunday, the minister said Flairjet was caught engaging in illegal operations in Nigeria, though it was given permission to carry out humanitarian services, as the COVID-19 pandemic persists.
He said: “Flair Aviation, a UK company, was given approval for humanitarian operations but regrettably we caught them conducting commercial flights. This is callous!” he tweeted on Sunday.
“The craft is impounded, the crew being interrogated. There shall be maximum penalty. Wrong time to try our resolve!”
The federal government shutdown the air borders to international flights on March 21 as a strategic move to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
