AsBAA's Balmer: Regional cooperation essential to tackle illegal charter and regulatory complexity in Asian business aviation
Why It MattersCross-border cabotage restrictions and inconsistent permit regimes across Asia's fragmented aviation jurisdictions are structurally incentivising unauthorised charter operations over compliant commercial authority.
Asia's business aviation market, operating a fleet of approximately 1,100 jets across a geographical area larger than Europe and North America combined, faces persistent regulatory fragmentation that the Asian Business Aviation Association says is fuelling illegal charter activity. Phil Balmer, head of technical at TAG Aviation and volunteer Chairman of AsBAA, said the complexity of navigating multiple jurisdictions, governments, and permit systems designed for scheduled airline operations rather than private aviation creates pressure that pushes some operators outside legal frameworks, noting AsBAA is engaging with civil aviation authorities to help redesign and accelerate permitting.
A core structural problem is cabotage: most Asian markets prohibit foreign-registered aircraft from carrying passengers between two domestic points, and additional clearance for a domestic leg can take days to obtain, leading some operators to opt for Part 91-style approvals rather than pursuing full commercial authority under a Part 135 commercial permit. AsBAA's COO Eric Lok said combating illegal charter is the association's top priority alongside safety, and that the association encourages travellers to verify operators hold a valid Air Operator Certificate before booking.
Balmer traced China's business aviation trajectory from largely state-adjacent or mission-specific use before around 1998, when Air China Business Jet operated a Learjet 45 and a Gulfstream IV among the earliest commercial examples, to a market where Gulfstream and Bombardier now hold strong positions, while Embraer has carved out strength in Indonesia and Vietnam is emerging as a new demand source driven by foreign direct investment and manufacturing growth. On maintenance, Balmer said the economics of sending aircraft to the United States or Europe for heavy maintenance have reversed as post-Covid demand pushed US MRO capacity to a premium while Asian capabilities expanded, with Singapore remaining the region's primary hub, Hong Kong retaining meaningful infrastructure, and Bombardier operating a facility in Tianjin, China.
