The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has summoned 13 domestic airlines to an emergency meeting over the growing number of flight delays and cancellations affecting passengers across the country.
Michael Achimugu, the agency’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, confirmed the meeting, which is slated for Wednesday at the NCAA headquarters in Abuja, on Tuesday via his X handle.
This involvement comes amid increased air traveler complaints and a string of events involving rowdy passenger behavior at airports, which the NCAA attributes in part to poor airline adherence to aviation rules.
In recent times, violent acts have been more common in Nigerian airport occurrences, which have been triggered by several factors.
While some disorderly behavior was caused by customers’ lack of knowledge of aviation rules, others were the consequence of airlines’ purposeful attempts to evade restrictions and deprive passengers of their rights.
Achimugu stated that the meeting would address a number of critical issues, including persistent flight delays and cancellations, passenger handling protocols and welfare obligations, unresolved refund and compensation complaints, enforcement of safety measures such as the phone switch-off directive, protection for cabin crew and NCAA officials, and the implementation of RFID baggage tagging and real-time flight monitoring technology.
This comes just 24 hours after the NCAA emphasized that airlines must follow the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, particularly Part 19, which outlines specific obligations to passengers in the event of delays or cancellations, such as providing hotel accommodations for stranded travellers between 10:00pm and 4:00am.
The regulatory authority announced its intention to begin “naming and shaming” airlines that frequently violate aviation laws, particularly those that delay or cancel flights without due process or passenger support.
Achimugu added that airlines cancel flights late at night without making measures for passenger safety, leaving NCAA consumer protection inspectors to deal with irate passengers. This, he claimed, exposes authorities to unnecessary risk.
He cautioned that the period of forbearance was over, declaring, “For sanctionable infractions, the Authority will take the most stringent measures possible.” We shall not ignore the wording of our regulations.”
However, Achimugu stressed that, while the NCAA recognizes the problems that local carriers confront, operators must satisfy the necessary requirements in order to be considered world-class.
