NAFA member David G. Mayer with Shackelford, McKinley & Norton, LLP discusses the legal and tax issues regarding charitable flights.
Many find navigating the legal and tax issues are more than worth it for charity flights.
Fighting a serious health condition like cancer is horrendous, but it gets even worse when the cancer patient can't travel to see the right doctor—a doctor who may not be across town but across the country. Rising to this great need, many private aviation individuals and corporate owners, lessees, pilots, and operators—flight partners—provide a free flight on their aircraft to those who face the physical, emotional, medical, or financial burden of traveling long distances for specialized medical care.
Multiple “qualified organizations” (i.e. charities) facilitate these partner flights. Often called “charitable organizations,” in the U.S. they must satisfy the criteria under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to be a tax-exempt entity. These charities, which have separate program models, include the Corporate Angel Network (CAN), for cancer patients; Angel Flight, for medical and disaster relief patients; and Patient AirLift Services (PALs), for medical patients.
CAN proudly announced last month at NBAA-BACE that it has coordinated 70,000 flights for cancer patients since its founding. I lost both of my grandfathers to cancer just as I was old enough to ask about their stories and some of my parents’ unspoken childhood exploits. Thinking of my grandfathers, who did not have today’s care options, I feel privileged and grateful to have become an “ambassador” for CAN.
When I shared my enthusiasm for this CAN role with friends and colleagues at NBAA-BACE, the conversation quickly shifted from their awareness of the charities to tax write-offs for partner flights, company liability risks, and FAA scrutiny of these flights and their pilots. In a discussion at Corporate Jet Investor Miami last week, an attendee said he “would love to pilot a mission” but did not know where to start.
This article was originally published by AIN on November 14, 2025.