A global campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of illegal charter flights is being launched on Friday (21 January) to coincide with the third anniversary of the death of Premier League footballer Emiliano Sala.
Cardiff City player Sala and his pilot David Ibbotson died on 21 January 2019 when an illegally chartered aircraft crashed into the English Channel. David Henderson, who organised the flight, was jailed for 18 months in November 2021 for endangering the safety of an aircraft. Read BTN Europe's analysis on what the tragedy and subsequent court case means for travel buyers.
The new worldwide Fly Legal Day social media campaign is being led by the Air Charter Association (ACA) and is particularly being targeted at travel bookers and travellers who may not be aware of the “dangers” of booking an illegal charter flight.
Glenn Hogben, chief executive of ACA, said: “Illegal charter remains an ongoing issue in our industry, and Sala’s anniversary highlights the tragic consequences of this illicit activity which we are determined to minimise.
“In memory of Sala, we are launching our Fly Legal Day and ask all our members and industry colleagues around the world to unite in spreading the word and to shine a light on this illegal practice, with the hope of preventing any future tragedy.”
An illegal charter is defined as being an “unlicensed aircraft charter operation” where the operator does not have an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), also known as an Air Carrier Certificate in the US. These operators are not legally allowed to accept payment for flying passengers on their aircraft.
“We want to build understanding among travel bookers and travellers of how they can travel legally,” added Hogben.
“Our industry is familiar with the practice and how to look out for it. But a lot of travel bookers are not aware of it – we want to get the message out to people who are making bookings and those travelling on flights.”
Hogben said that the charter industry had seen a “significant increase” in the number of flights being booked for business travel over the past two years, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There’s the increased safety and security of flying in a known group of travellers, but it’s also because of a lack of scheduled services,” he explained. “Flying direct on a charter can save you time and money.”
Hogben identified five “key points” for the corporate travel industry to be aware of to ensure that any charter flights being booked will be operating legally:
- Use an accredited member of the ACA
- Use an accredited charter flight broker
- Those booking a charter directly should ask to see a copy of the operator’s licence
- Ask about a pilot’s qualifications to ensure they are qualified to fly the type of aircraft being used for the charter
- “Trust your instincts and do your due diligence” – if the price for a charter flight seems “too good to be true”, then further questions will need to be asked
Hogben said the key aim of the Fly Legal Day campaign was to maintain the high level of awareness about the issue of illegal charters.
“The Sala trial raised awareness of this practice around the world, but it’s important the message doesn’t get lost in the future,” he added.