The Senate on Wednesday invited the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Director-General, Capt. Chris Najomo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, airline operators, and other pertinent parties over the ongoing airline delays and cancellations.
The Senate specifically charged its Committee on Aviation with determining the causes of the frequent aircraft delays and cancellations to identify long-term solutions to the issue when it adopted a motion to that effect during plenary, which was sponsored by Senator AbdulFatai Buhari (APC Omo North).
Approximately 2,000 travellers lost 19,274 pieces of luggage between January and June of this year, according to the PUNCH.
When Senator Buhari introduced the resolution, he stated that the issue, which he pointed out had been growing recently, was widely reported in the media.
“Air travel is one of the most dependable, dependable, and quicker means of transportation, and it’s often used for business or official purposes as well as to keep other scheduled appointments, which are typically time-bound,” he said, making this development concerning.
Thus, he issued a warning that “unnecessary flight cancellations and delays will be counterproductive to the socio-economic growth and development of this government.”
The lawmaker pointed out that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act gave the NCAA statutory authority to oversee and provide guidelines for airlines to ensure that they operate in Nigeria by international standards and that airline customers receive value for the money they pay for, among other things. This is part of interventionist measures to check the unethical and unwholesome practices of the practitioners in the aviation sector.
“The current administration’s policy thrust, which includes economic diversification and foreign direct investment, will remain an illusion if the country’s aviation industry falls short of the acceptable best practices across the globe,” Buhari noted.
“Provisions for consumer protection in Nigeria’s civil aviation sector are outlined in Part 19 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Regulations of 2023.”
The NCAA must implement this part of its regulation so that airline operators will wake up and realise their obligations, he continued. “However, enforcement has been a problem, as the majority of Nigerians are not even aware that they are entitled to compensation for time lost due to unnecessary delay.”
