The Chairman of the Air Peace airline, Allen Onyema has expressed his willingness to accept the sanctions imposed on his company by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Recall that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Tuesday commenced enforcement actions against five airlines including Air Peace for violations of various consumer protection regulations.
The development was disclosed by the NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, in a statement posted on his official X page on Tuesday.
“Earlier today, I notified five airlines that the NCAA has initiated enforcement actions against the operators for violation of various consumer protection regulations (Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023),” the statement said.
Giving an update on the issue, the acting Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo in a post shared on X on Friday said Onyema acknowledged that his staff were guilty of the infringements alleged by NCAA.
He wrote: “Today, the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, publicly accepted the enforcement actions initiated by the NCAA, stating that he has witnessed some of the infractions by his staff, and has cautioned them to comply with the Authority by ensuring that refunds are paid within the stipulated timeframe per Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.
“I am glad that this has happened. I have warned my team. This shows that the NCAA know what they are doing. I will always acknowledge it where the fault is ours,” Onyema was quoted to have said.
“After the stakeholders meeting with domestic operators today in Lagos, an international airline, Ethiopian, was waiting to discuss with me the notification of enforcement action issued to their airline.
“They expressed readiness to comply with NCAA regulations going forward and said that they would send in a compliance report by tomorrow.
“This is the first time in over a decade that the NCAA Consumer Protection Department is initiating sanctions against airlines.
“It will no longer be business as usual even as we will continue to do our duty of protecting both airlines and passengers as impartial umpires.
”I commend Allen Onyema for acknowledging the issues raised while assuring the travelling public that we will continue to protect their rights.”