The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has summoned the management of Air Peace Limited following a surge in consumer complaints over the airline’s alleged failure to refund ticket fares on cancelled flights.
In a statement issued Monday by the Commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the FCCPC said the actions of the airline may have violated key consumer protection provisions under Sections 130(1)(a) and (b), and 130(2)(b) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, FCCPA, 2018.
He said these sections uphold consumers’ right to timely refunds when services paid for in advance are not delivered.
Ijagwu stated that the formal summons, dated June 13, 2025, directs Air Peace to appear before the Commission at its Abuja headquarters on Monday, June 23, 2025.
According to him, the summons was issued under the authority of Sections 32 and 33 of the FCCPA, which empower the Commission to investigate, summon, and sanction erring service providers.
“The FCCPA expressly guarantees consumers the right to refunds for cancelled bookings. This principle enshrines fair dealing and protects consumers from unjust, unfair, or unreasonable commercial conduct,” he said.
The summons requires Air Peace to provide extensive documentation, including a complaint log detailing refund-related issues over the past 12 months, a record of all processed refunds, a comprehensive list of cancelled flights on all routes during the same period, and evidence of remedial actions taken to mitigate the impact on affected consumers.
The Commission emphasized that failure to comply with its summons could result in sanctions, including fines and possible imprisonment, as provided under Section 33(3) of the FCCPA.
This latest regulatory action comes months after the FCCPC launched a separate investigation in December 2024 into alleged exploitative ticket pricing by the airline, particularly over sharp fare increases for advance bookings on local routes.
Air Peace had responded to that probe by initiating legal action to bar the Commission from continuing its inquiry.
The FCCPC, however, clarified that the current summons relates specifically to refund practices and is entirely separate from the ongoing litigation on fare pricing.
“The Commission remains committed to enforcing the FCCPA and ensuring that airline passengers and all consumers are protected from unfair market conduct,” Ijagwu added.
Efforts to obtain immediate comments from Air Peace were unsuccessful as of press time.
