The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has initiated enforcement actions against five airlines (two international and three domestic operators) for various violations of Part 19 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAR) including nonpayment of refunds within the stipulated time frame, non-responsiveness to the NCAA’s directives, missing luggage, manhandled luggage, short-landed baggage, delayed and canceled flights, amongst others.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection (NCAA), Mr. Michael Achimugu who stated this while speaking to journalists at the corporate headquarters of the Authority in Abuja on Tuesday, added that the sanction is with immediate effect.
He stated that although airlines are not always responsible for flight disruptions, NCAA regulations stipulate actions that airlines must take during disruptions. Failure to comply attracts various levels of sanctions.
It would be recalled that the Authority recently warned that it would initiate sanctions if airlines fail to pay refunds within the stipulated time frame of fourteen days for online ticket purchases and immediate cash refunds for tickets purchased by cash.
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“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,” the director explained.
The director also assured that the Authority will be summoning the CEOs of all airlines this week to a meeting over flight disruptions and regulatory breaches.
While Achimugu did not disclose the airlines whose sanctions he signed today, sources close to the Authority disclosed that they are Ethiopian Airways, Royal Maroc Airlines, Arik Air, Aero Contractors and Air Peace.
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