NCAA summons airlines over recurring passenger complaints, others

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has summoned airlines over consistent flight delays, cancellations and other complaints by air passengers.

The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday at the NCAA headquarters in Abuja, was confirmed by Michael Achimugu, the agency’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, via his X handle on Tuesday.

Not a few had inundated the NCAA with so many complaints of incessant flight delays, cancellations and other poor services that have taken the joy out of air travel; a recurring problem in the country’s aviation industry.

The carriers have equally been accused of a lack of adherence to regulatory rules and other actions that have made air travel cumbersome.

Achimugu, however, reiterated that while the NCAA acknowledges the challenges faced by domestic carriers, operators must meet the expected standards if they wish to be regarded as world-class.

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This intervention comes amid rising complaints from air travellers and a series of incidents involving unruly passenger behaviour at airports, a trend that the NCAA attributes partly to poor airline adherence to aviation rules.

While some unruly behaviours were caused by passengers’ ignorance of aviation rules, some were a result of airlines’ deliberate moves to circumvent regulations and deprive passengers of their rights.

Achimugu disclosed that the meeting would address a range of critical issues, including persistent flight delays and cancellations, passenger handling protocols and welfare obligations, unresolved refund and compensation complaints, enforcement of safety measures like the phone switch-off directive, protection for cabin crew and NCAA officials, and the Introduction of RFID baggage tagging and real-time flight monitoring technology.

This comes barely 24 hours after the NCAA emphasised that airlines must uphold the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, particularly Part 19, which outlines specific obligations to passengers in the event of delays or cancellations, including providing hotel accommodations for stranded travellers between 10:00 pm and 4:00 am.

The regulatory body stated its readiness to begin “naming and shaming” airlines that consistently flout aviation rules, particularly those that delay or cancel flights without due process or passenger support.

Achimugu noted that airlines cancel flights late at night without making provisions for passenger welfare, leaving NCAA consumer protection officers to manage agitated travellers.