Recession: Private jets ownership drops by 50%

The number of privately owned jets in Nigeria has shrunk by almost 50 per cent between 2015 and 2016, checks by Daily Trust have shown.

Within this period, no fewer than 31 private jets have been de-registered with the aircraft either sold off or returned to their owners abroad.

The development, it was gathered, is not unconnected with the economic downturn and the high cost of maintaining a private jet which is said to have doubled in recent times.

Information gathered from the record of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday indicated that there are currently 36 private jets registered in the country comprising of 18 state-owned and 18 owned by individuals and corporate companies.

Prior to the assumption of office of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, there were 67 private jets though all registered in foreign companies but owned by highly placed individuals.

It would be recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan had equally boasted in May 2014 that Nigeria could not be categorized as among the poorest countries because of the ownership of private jets by many Nigerians.