NCAA Blames Ground Handling Error for Air Peace Flight Disruption, Resolves to Stiffer Sanctions
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has attributed a recent disruption of Air Peace flight operations to damage caused by a ground handling equipment, saying airlines often bear the consequences of incidents that are not their fault.
NCAA spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, who disclosed this in a statement on X, said passengers had already boarded the affected Air Peace aircraft when a ground handler’s conveyor belt struck the plane, damaging its engine cover and forcing an immediate deboarding.
He explained that the aircraft, one of the airline’s brand-new Embraer E2 fleet, had been scheduled to operate nine sectors and was fully booked until January 15, 2026, adding that the damage would result in delays and cancellations for passengers already booked on those flights.
According to him, the airline will face refunds, compensation, and operational backlash despite not being responsible for the incident, and would still incur huge foreign exchange expenses to repair the aircraft.
Achimugu recalled that the airline previously suffered a bird strike which, by the airline’s disclosure, cost over three million dollars to fix and took about a month before replacement components were supplied by the manufacturer.
The spokesperson lamented that airlines often avoid blaming other service providers publicly, choosing instead to cite “technical/operational reasons,” while still bearing the anger of affected passengers and the obligations under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.
He stated that Air Peace had faced several similar technical issues through no fault of its own, stressing that the Authority is now considering strengthening regulations to impose heavier sanctions on poorly trained or negligent ground handling personnel and service providers whose actions cause damage and disruptions.
Achimugu added that passengers should be honestly informed about the true causes of disruptions where airlines are not culpable, and expressed hope that adequate insurance would cover current losses.
He appealed for the understanding of passengers affected by the latest disruption, noting that although the airline has two standby aircraft, they have already been deployed to address other similar situations and do not match the seating capacity of the damaged E2.
The NCAA spokesperson emphasized the need for greater public education on behind-the-scenes operational challenges in the aviation sector to prevent misconceptions about airlines being solely responsible for disruptions.
He expressed empathy with Air Peace and other domestic operators, commending their resilience, and acknowledged recent improvements in access to foreign exchange under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while saying the cost impact on airlines remains significant.
“Passengers were already boarded when a ground handler’s conveyor belt hit the aircraft, causing damage to the engine cover. Passengers had to be deboarded. The aircraft was scheduled to fly nine sectors. All passengers waiting for its operations are automatically disrupted, and the airline will face backlash, refund issues, compensation, etc, for a damage that was not its fault, and it would spend large sums of foreign currency to fix.
“The other time, it was a bird strike that cost (by the airline’s admission), over three million dollars to fix. It took an entire month for the airline manufacturer to send them the replacement for the “engine cowling dent.”Today’s aircraft was one of the brand new E2’s, and it was fully booked until January 15th, 2026. Now, all innocent passengers booked for its operations will experience one delay or cancellation.
“But airlines will not throw other service providers under the bus. They will simply announce “technical/operational reasons” and then they would bear, not just the anger of justifiably aggravated passengers, but the consequences per Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.
“Airlines should not be held responsible for situations like this, and passengers should be informed, most honestly, about the reasons for disruptions caused by these unfortunate scenarios.”, he wrote.
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