The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection , Michael Achimugu has said in 2025, the Authority will place heavier sanctions on erring airline operators .
While addressing issues that concern airline companies on air, he recalled that in January, the NCAA for the first time in its 25-year history sanctioned five airlines for consumer protection-related infractions.
He explained that flight disruption is a global phenomenon and not all are the fault of the airlines.He said unforeseen circumstances like bad weather could cause it.
Achimugu acknowledged that Nigeria has a capacity problem and the NCAA has advised that airlines cut down the size of their operations if they have an aircraft on ground but there exist technical issues , bird strike and other issues.
He noted that the NCAA has a portal that was established to make the process of passenger complaints and resolutions more seamless adding that the Authority has onboarded its consumer protection officers who are always present at all the airport terminals and domestic and international operators , so that passengers can drop their complaints, and it can be forwarded it to the airlines respectively.
To forward complaints to the Authority, he said the QR code which is on display at all airport terminals can be scanned and if there’s no direct access to the QR code, a message can be sent to cpd.ncaa.gov.ng, michael.achimugu.nca.gov.ng or ifueko.abdumalik.ncaa.gov.ng. He disclosed that in a few months’ time, the Authority will be launch a mobile app .
The NCAA spokesperson revealed that the Consumer Protection has timeframes for the resolution of cases according to the regulations and international conventions and if airlines do not process these cases within the stipulated timeframe, there will be sanctions for that. He reported that some airlines are beginning to rejig their refund systems, to be able to cope with these timeframes, and it’s going to be much better this year.
He confirmed that since the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo assumed office, he has been very passionate about consumer protection likewise the DDCA, Captain Chris Najomo.He also said the Authority has had the highest level of stakeholder engagement in 2024.
“We are making sure that 2025 will be a better year for the industry.For instance, if you are carrying out a five aircraft operation and suddenly two of those aircrafts have faults, then you must cut down the number of aircrafts you are flying for that day so you don’t sell tickets to passengers to destinations you know you may not be able to fly.
“Right now, it’s a new NCAA, and we have held the largest volume of stakeholder engagement in the history of the authority last year with all of the airlines. We understand now the areas where they are at fault, where the other stakeholders are at fault and so we are able to apply the rules where necessary.
“Every Nigerian passenger will have our mobile app on their phone for easy and seamless access. We also have emails, official emails and complaint emails where passengers can send their complaints.When you go through the portal, you get an instant automated response, uploading receipts, first of all, of your complaint. After that, we escalate to the airline. We’ve been educating every passenger that there’s different timelines for the resolution of different complaints.
“For instance, refunds; The regulations stipulate that where a ticket has been purchased by cash, the passenger is entitled to an immediate cash refund there and then at the terminal. But where it has been purchased by any other means except by cash, then the airline has 14 days to refund the passenger.
“Please take note that you don’t have to focus on the portal all the time. We have staff physically present at the terminals. So if you have an immediate problem that requires urgent solutions, just ask for the NCAA Consumer Protection desk or office.”, he said.
5sidnx