The following description of the hotline is posted on the NATA website (www.nata.aero): “Effective immediately, any employee or agent of a Part 135 on-demand certificate holder can call a special toll-free hotline, (888) 759-3581 or (888) SKY-FLT1, to file a report of suspected illegal commercial flights, where an aircraft operator without an FAR Part 135 certificate is accepting compensation for transportation in violation of both FAA and Department of Transportation regulations.

Private operators posing as commercial charter providers in Europe, North America, and the Middle East are soliciting money from the “ignorant public” and, certificated operators claim, are endangering their passengers while creating unfair competition for the legitimate, rules-abiding members of the industry.

It’s likely that the most challenging application of business aviation ever attempted is the corporate shuttle service operated between Anchorage and Alaska’s North Slope tundra to transport oil field and Trans Alaska Pipeline workers to their jobs.