FAA Proposes $260,868 Fine Against ExcelAire for Charter Flights Conducted After Certificate Surrender
Why It MattersThe action underscores FAA scrutiny of Part 135 operators lacking required management post holders, reinforcing that leadership gaps are treated as safety violations, not administrative lapses.
The FAA on September 22, 2026 proposed a $260,868 civil penalty against ExcelAire, LLC, a New York and Georgia-based charter operator, alleging the company conducted two paid charter flights in August 2025 after its air carrier certificate had already been surrendered. According to the FAA, ExcelAire's director of operations surrendered the certificate in June 2025, two months before the flights, after the company's entire required management team — director of operations, chief pilot, and director of maintenance, all positions mandated under FAA Part 119 — resigned simultaneously. The FAA further alleges ExcelAire still lacks the qualified management personnel required to ensure safe operations, and described the flights as conduct that "demonstrates a disregard for the safety of the flying public" and was "careless or reckless so as to endanger the lives and property of others."
Commercial air charter operators must hold an air carrier or operating certificate and FAA-issued Operations Specifications under Part 135, tied to named, qualified post holders accountable for pilot training, airworthiness releases, and operational decisions; the FAA treats a gap in required management as a safety issue rather than a paperwork deficiency. In September 2025, a company representative named Marcos Bell told Private Jet Card Comparisons that ExcelAire "continues to operate in full compliance with FAA Part 135 requirements" and maintained all FAA-mandated Part 119 management positions, a statement made in the context of litigation rather than in response to the enforcement action, which had not yet been issued.
The penalty is proposed, not final, and ExcelAire has 30 days from receipt of the enforcement notice to respond, with the amount subject to change. No ExcelAire statement specifically addressing this penalty has been identified.
The FAA separately proposed penalties totaling $1,228,671 against five other companies for illegal charter operations: PottCo Airlease of Council Bluffs, Iowa ($344,672 for 16 flights in a twin-engine Cessna Conquest); PottCo Tactical Air, also of Iowa ($301,676 for 43 flights in the same aircraft type); Wikert Air of Omaha ($233,133 for 21 flights in a Pilatus PC-12); Oracle Aviation of Omaha ($191,536 for nine flights); and East Shore Aviation of North Charleston, South Carolina ($157,654). Those cases involved flights between February 2018 and February 2020.
