• Illegal Charter Can
    Create Significant Liability

    Allowing your aircraft to be used in an illegal charter operation
    could result in termination of your aircraft insurance;
    risk of your good reputation; and, in some cases,
    possible aircraft seizure.

    Learn More

  • Illegal Charter Poses
    Risks to Safety

    An illegal charter operator may not meet the higher standards
    for pilot training, maintenance requirements and defined operational
    control of a certificated Part 135 air charter operator.

    Learn More

  • Illegal Charter Undermines
    Competition and Industry Reputation

    Illegal charter operations distort the market for legitimate air charter
    operators by evading the high costs of legal air charter operations,
    including proper training and insurance. Further, accidents, incidents,
    and major enforcement scenarios often lead to negative media coverage,
    impacting the entire air charter industry.

    Learn More

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Education AIR CHARTER OPERATORS
Education CONSUMERS
Education AIRCRAFT OWNERS
Education CHARTER BROKERS
Education FAA

Welcome to Fly Smarter: Avoid Illegal Charter

Illegal charter is a growing concern among the air charter industry and the public.

Illegal air charter is a serious threat to legitimate charter certificate holders that is often difficult to identify ultimately putting unwitting customers in danger.

This site is intended to create awareness of, help identify, and avoid illegal charter activities. All other inquiries should be directed to your local FAA Flight Standards District Office or the FAA Hotline.  

To help combat illegal charter, NATA is pleased to bring awareness to this pervasive issue and work to:

  • Partner with the FAA to provide guidance on identifying, and steps to avoiding, illegal operations
  • Educate Congress on the dangers of illegal charter, and seek to better equip the FAA in combating this real safety issue
  • Educate the public through campaigns and resources, including publications like "Chartering an Aircraft, A Consumer Guide" and "Risks of Illegal Charter"
  • Assist the FAA in enforcement through data collection and reporting
  • Leverage existing FAA data sources to help the FAA focus enforcement efforts
  • Help the legitimate charter industry provide the FAA with illegal charter reports that provide more actionable data

In working with the FAA we are making progress, but we need your continued vigilance in providing actionable suspected illegal charter activity reports.   

Advisory: FAA’s Part 135 Operators and Aircraft List Temporarily Offline for Data Corrections

The FAA has advised that it is aware of data integrity issues with the FAA’s Part 135 Operators and Aircraft list available on the Safe Air Charter Website. The FAA has temporarily deactivated the spreadsheet while it develops a solution to address the discrepancies. The list is commonly used to look up Part 135 certificate holders and associated aircraft (including by operator name and tail number) as part of charter verification.

NATA recognizes the importance of this resource to both the flying public and to legitimate air charter operators; the data it contains must be current and accurate for compliance, consumer awareness, and business decisions.

The FAA has committed to prioritizing data integrity, ensuring the information is as close to 100% accurate and up to date as possible before it is posted. NATA is in regular communication with the responsible FAA staff to ensure action is a top priority.

In the meantime, charter customers should:

- Verify the operator’s legitimacy by asking for a copy of the air carrier certificate and confirmation that the aircraft is authorized for charter use.
- Contact their local FAA field office to verify an operator and aircraft authorization: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/field_offices/fsdo.
- Use NATA’s Avoid Illegal Charter resources for common warning signs and due-diligence steps: www.avoidillegalcharter.com.
- Review resources on the Safe Air Charter site: https://www.faa.gov/charter.

NATA will continue to share updates as soon as they are available. Contact the NATA team with questions or concerns at hhuezo@nata.aero.