FAA: Illegal Charter Crackdown Working

The FAA concludes 2021 on a high note, stating that the agency’s campaign aimed at stopping illegal charter operations appears to be working.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:34 AM ET

Verified

In summer 2019, the FAA launched its educational campaign about the dangers of illegal charter operations. [Courtesy: FAA]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's educational campaign against illegal charter operations, launched in 2019, is proving successful in increasing awareness, reporting, and enforcement against operators who skirt critical safety regulations.
A key indicator of the campaign's effectiveness is the June 2021 Houston jury decision that found an illegal charter operator liable and fined them nearly $240,000 for 14 unregulated flights.
The FAA is stepping up enforcement actions, ranging from voluntary compliance encouragement to administrative penalties and Department of Justice prosecution for severe cases, to protect the public and support legitimate air transport businesses.

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The FAA concludes 2021 on a high note, stating that the agency’s campaign aimed at stopping illegal charter operations appears to be working. As proof of this, the FAA cited the decision by a Houston jury in June to hold an aircraft operator liable for flying illegal charters.

According to the FAA, “An illegal charter operator charges people for flights without going through the proper certification process, and skirts safety rules in the process. They have been a persistent—and potentially dangerous—problem for the FAA, the traveling public, and the legitimate air transport industry for years.”