AsBAA Puts its Sights on Asia’s Illegal Charters

On 21 January 2019, the twenty-eight year old international football star Emiliano Sala likely had no idea that his private charter plane leaving Nantes, France, for Cardiff, Wales was flying without an Aircraft Operator's Certificate (AOC).

Analogous to a licence to operate a taxi company, an AOC is required by law for any company that flies passengers for compensation. To hold an AOC, a charter flight operator needs to keep their aircraft on a strict schedule of stringent maintenance and safety checks and hire only pilots with a level of experience and training that meets or exceeds the AOC-defined standard — among many other stipulations.

The idea is to ensure flight safety and prevent things like what happened that day to Sala. The UK AAIB's report for this accident found that the pilot lost control in poor weather at night, while trying to regain visual meteorological conditions. It also found that he was likely affected by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Dangerous, unfair, insidious

It's easy to understand why charter operator aircraft need to be held to higher standards of maintenance and safety testing than privately-owned aircraft used exclusively for personal trips. Charter aircraft typically spend far more time in the air, more frequently fly in hazardous conditions and need to be able to depart at a moment's notice.

It's also easy to understand why charter service pilots must be held to higher standards of safety and testing than recreational pilots. Charter pilots more frequently traverse unfamiliar landscapes, land at challenging airports, and fly without necessarily having gotten an ideal amount of rest.

So why is it that operating a charter flight service without the proper licence remains a common white-collar crime worldwide? In the Asia-Pacific region more than 30% of charter flights are likely illegal, according to a recent industry survey jointly conducted by the Asia Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) and global law firm HFW.?

One reason for the persistence of these dangerous flights is passenger ignorance about their risks, which in addition to higher likelihood of accident includes a significant probability that insurance companies will not honour claims if one were to occur. More basically, many flyers are simply unaware whether their charter flight is legal or not, and may not know what information to ask for in order to find out.

But in the final analysis, the chief reason for why illegal charters remain a hazard to public safety is the greed and unscrupulousness of their operators. Rather than investing in obtaining an AOC and assuming the cost of adhering to its numerous safety requirements, illegal charter operators steal business from legitimate charter operators by undercutting them on price. And they easily avoid legal accountability, especially in Asia where enforcement has long lagged behind the rapid development of general aviation.

Unethical arrangements

In a typical illegal charter scenario, an agent or broker has a client who wants to fly somewhere in a private aircraft. The agent/broker contacts the personal assistant of a high net worth individual who owns an aircraft for private use. The agent/broker asks the HNWI’s personal assistant about the possibility of their client chartering the aircraft, offering a bribe to win the PA's cooperation. Many high net worth aircraft owners trust their PAs to such an extent that they allow the PA to make the decision. The aircraft is then used for fare-paying passengers. Or the owner, and possibly the PA, may not be aware that it is illegal for their aircraft to be used as an air taxi. Why not bring in revenues cover some of the considerable costs of maintaining an aircraft that would otherwise be just sitting unused in its hangar? The deal is closed, and another dangerous flight is headed for the skies.

Note that two crimes are being committed here: illegal flying and bribery. It was the latter offence that brought two employees of two different Hong Kong charter service businesses before a court last year. One company had been contracting out its charter services to the other, and in the process passed bribes totalling HK$630,000.?The two individuals who were prosecuted were sentenced respectively to 22 and 30 months in prison.

The case was a rare instance of a law enforcement agency in Asia cracking down on illegal charter activity, and as it happens the crime which was prosecuted was bribery rather than illegal charter. The Federal Aviation Administration of the USA, in contrast, regularly announces names and proposed penalties of numerous illegal charter offenders each year, the typical offence being flying without an AOC.

Cleaning up Asian skies

But there is good reason to believe that Asia will soon be seeing more enforcement action against illegal charter flights. Since early last year the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) and its partners have been working to educate Asian governments on the issue. AsBAA has also established the Illegal Charter Reporting System (ICRS), the first such system in Asia.

ICRS allows anyone with knowledge of suspected illegal charter activity to report it, anonymously if they wish, and it can be access manually by clicking a red "Report Illegal Charter" tab in the upper right corner of AsBAA's website. After the user submits the details of the suspected illegal activity, AsBAA compiles and formats the information received, then passes it directly to the relevant civil aviation authorities for their follow-up investigation and potential enforcement action. AsBAA also proactively follows-up on each case where possible.

AsBAA is also seeking to persuade Asia's civil aviation authorities and regulators to formally endorse ICRS, and has already received its first formal endorsement from the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

The Philippine government agency also demonstrated its willingness to take action against illegal charters recently when it interrupted the departure flight of a suspected long-time illegal charter violator.

How you can avoid illegal charters

Many passengers of illegal charter flights are unaware that their flight may be illegitimate. How can you make sure that you don’t end up on an illegal charter flight?

The most important thing you can do is to ask to see the operator’s Aircraft Operator’s Certificate and take note of the certificate number. You can then verify that your flight is authorised for charter by contacting the appropriate aviation regulator in your nation.

The FAA lists the following red flags as signs of a potential illegal charter operation:

●????If the company provides the aircraft and at least one crew member, yet attempts to transfer operational control to a consumer via any document.

●????A lack of Federal Excise Tax charged to the consumer. Legitimate operators have to charge this. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

●????A lack of a safety briefing or passenger briefing cards.

●????Any evasiveness to questions or concerns. Legitimate operators should be transparent and helpful.

●????If the pilot or someone associated with the company coaches passengers on what to say or do if an FAA aviation inspector meets the aircraft at its destination.

If you notice any of these red flags, or if the charter service you are considering fails to provide satisfactory answers to your questions, then it's probably best to look elsewhere for your flight.

And if you do encounter a suspected illegal charter operation, please report it to ICRS (or by navigating to the red tab in the upper right corner of AsBAA.org). Doing so will help ensure there are consequences for those in Asia who put profit over safety. There is no space in our skies for flights that endanger passengers and the public, and that undercut the businesses of operators who play by the rules.

#flylegalday #illegalcharter #aviationsafety #theaca #AsBAA