Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, stating that the airlines were penalised for various offences, including nonpayment of refunds within the stipulated time, unresponsiveness to directives, mishandled luggage, and flight delays or cancellations.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has sanctioned five airlines—two international and three domestic operators—for breaching Part 19 of its regulations.
Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, stating that the airlines were penalised for various offences, including nonpayment of refunds within the stipulated time, unresponsiveness to directives, mishandled luggage, and flight delays or cancellations.
“While airlines are not always to blame for flight disruptions, NCAA regulations require them to take specific actions during such incidents, and non-compliance results in various sanctions,” he said.
The NCAA recently emphasised its 14-day refund policy for online ticket purchases and immediate cash refunds for tickets bought with cash.
“We all know that this is harmattan season, so there is poor visibility. Flights must get cancelled.
This is force majeure, and the airlines do not owe passengers anything in those instances. The enforcement we are initiating today is on cases where the airline is deemed to have been at fault. More will come,” Achimugu explained.
He added that the authority plans to meet with the CEOs of all airlines this week to address flight disruptions and regulatory violations.