Easter: FG warns airlines against extorting passengers

Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has warned airlines against taking advantage of the heavy traffic during the Easter period to exploit travelers through arbitrary increase in fares.
Sirika in a statement signed by James Odaudu, the Deputy Director, Press & Public Affairs, said the warning became necessary in view of some of the airlines’ penchant for unwarranted inflation of fares during festive seasons, thereby causing untold hardship for air travellers.
The minister said rather than cause problems for the travelling public, the airlines should devise better means of improving their services in terms of customer comfort, safe and timely flights, more effective information dissemination and network expansion.
He assured Nigerians of the preparedness of all aviation agencies to ensure safety and security of passengers during the period and beyond. According to him, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, in conjunction with the Nigerian police has deployed sniffer dogs at the airports to complement the regular aviation security set-up.
Sirika has also directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to closely monitor the activities of the airlines to ensure strict compliance with all operational rules and guidelines in order to protect travellers against operational misconducts.