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 contrary to reports making the rounds in some sections of the media.
Recall that, Authority’s Director of Consumer Protection and Public Affairs, Michael Achimugu, warned two weeks ago that airlines may face penalties if they fail to give refunds to customers within the time frame specified in Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.
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.
Reacting to the statement, Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace, stated that he had discovered that some of his financial staff had delayed some of those payments, which he was not pleased with because his vision does not coincide with any practice that disturbs his passengers.
He accepted the NCAA’s enforcement action and stated that the airline will improve its response time to similar complaints.
According to certain media reports, the airlines may have been sanctioned for far more than just flight disruption issues.
In a statement sent in by Mr. Achimugu, he said, “Even the DGCA publicly announced at a stakeholders meeting in Lagos, the names of the airlines, and the reasons for the enforcement actions.
My department is strictly for consumer protection issues, not technical matters. So why would anyone think that i can sanction an airline for safety reasons?”
“It is important to note that we do not sensationalise serious issues. The department protects both the operators and passengers and will continue to be an unbiased umpire,” He concluded.
