A new report by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has indicted two of the country’s 11 domestic airlines of being responsible for the most cancelled flights.
In the report, the NCAA said the 11 domestic airlines operating in the country had 284 flight cancellations in the first quarter of the year.
Nigeria’s largest domestic carrier, Air Peace, topped the list with the highest number of cancelled flights from January through March this year.
Data by the regulator shows that Air Peace cancelled 63 flights; followed by Max Air with 56, Arik cancelled 43 flights; Aero Contractors 40; Azman Air 20; and Green Africa 16.
The report shows that Overland cancelled 15 flights; Value Jet 15; Ibom air 9; Dana air 5; and United Airlines 2.
The NCAA report also stated that 2,791,591 passengers passed through the nation’s domestic airports in the first quarter of 2023.
The report further highlighted that of the 2,791,591 passengers, 1,391,560 were inbound and 1,400,031 outbound.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2015 which is being amended guarantees that passengers get full refunds when their flights are delayed or cancelled. But getting such refunds can be difficult and time-wasting, passengers have said.
“Every passenger shall, before purchasing any ticket for a contract of carriage by the air carrier or its agents, be entitled to the full, fair, and clear disclosure of all the terms and conditions of the carriage about to be purchased.
“The disclosure shall include, among others, documents required to be presented at check-in, provisions on check-in deadlines, refund and rebooking policies, and procedures and responsibility for delayed and/or cancelled flights,” the regulations said.
While airline passengers in Nigeria hardly get refunds for delayed or cancelled flights, it is different from what is obtainable in developed countries, especially the Unites States and Europe, where passengers can claim huge amounts of money in compensation for delays.
For instance, in the US, there is a maximum of $700, roughly N525,000 at N750/$ (excluding accommodation and food costs, which airlines may have to cover) for delaying passengers.
But even short delays can incur penalties of $200 or more. Delayed flights can take off or land in any European Union (EU) nation, along with associated nations like Switzerland, Iceland and Norway (or the UK).
It was, however, gathered that for the compensation to be made, the airline must be at fault to some degree. Claims probably won’t be accepted if extreme weather situations were to blame, which is classified as force majeure.
