Contrary to reports in some sections of the media, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has clarified that the sanctions initiated against five airlines recently were for consumer protection-related infractions, and not for safety concerns.
This was contained in a Press Statement made available to Journalist by the Director of the Consumer Protection and Public Affairs Department, Mr. Michael Achimugu.
Recall that two weeks ago, Mr. Michael Achimugu issued a warning that any airline that delays the payment of refunds to passengers within the stipulated time frame in Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023 will be sanctioned.
A week later, the Regulatory agency announced that it had initiated enforcement action against Royal Air Maroc, Ethiopian Airways, Air Peace, Arik Air, and Aero Contractors.
Furthermore, the Acting Director-General of NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, called an emergency stakeholder meeting to find lasting solutions to flight delays and cancellations.
At the meeting, he advised operators to trim their operations according to the number of aircraft they have and to treat consumer complaints with the desired urgency.
Reacting to the announcement, Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace, said that he had noticed that some of his finance staff delayed some of those payments, and he was not happy about it as his vision does not align with any practice that inconveniences his passengers.
He accepted the NCAA’s enforcement action and said the airline would improve its response time to such complaints.
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