Crossword Genius

Flying first-class to carry five people without leader (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aviation

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'flying first-class' is the definition.
'aviation' can be an answer for 'flying' (I've seen this before). I'm not sure about the 'first-class' bit.

'carry five people without leader' is the wordplay.
'carry five' becomes 'avi' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'people' becomes 'nation'.
'without leader' means to remove the first letter.
'nation' with its initial letter taken off is 'ation'.
'avi'+'ation'='AVIATION'

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aviation that I've seen before include "Job; date" , "The aircraft industry" , "Mechanical flight" , "The business of airlines" , "Aircraft operating business" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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