PASSENGERS RIGHTS: Informed Passengers and Stakeholders Will Enhance Aviation Operations- NCAA

… We are doing our best to protect Passengers and Airlines- Achimugu

Oru Leonard 

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has advised airline passengers and other regulatory agencies interested in consumer-related issues in aviation to study and understand the NCAA regulatory provisions governing consumer protection.

The Authority reckons that with more informed passengers and stakeholders, issues around passengers’ rights will be better understood.

Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection (NCAA) Mr. Michael Achimugu who congratulated the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barrister Festus Keyamo on his retention in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), made the call on Thursday in Abuja at a media briefing.

He said “passengers’ must study the 19 of the NCAA regulation to know their rights and responsibilities. If you know your rights, you can always access them because most of the time, the airlines won’t inform you of your benefits” he said.

The regulation he said provides for timelines and compensations in resolving different passenger complaints.

“We want to address the issue of time frame in resolving passenger complaints. We have noticed over time that passengers and other government agencies who forward complaints to the NCAA do not seem to understand the concept of time within the NCAA regulatory framework and aviation regulations globally.

We noticed that once passengers report a case, they assume it should be resolved within a day or two days. we also have situations where government agencies write us to say we must resolve cases within three days” he said.

We have been carrying out a lot of awareness as regards passengers’ rights and obligations to correct these misconceptions.

Mr. Achimugu provided the following timelines for the below complaints. For delayed luggage, he said passengers are entitled to a First Needs payment of N10,000 for domestic flights and USD170 For international flights while the baggage is being searched for. However, the USD170 will only apply if the airlines fail to implement their own conditions for baggage delays.

He further explained that the airline has up to seven days to search for the delayed baggage for domestic flights and 21 days for international flights.

The director further explained that if your baggage is confirmed missing, the liability limit is $1,000 for local airlines. However, “passengers’ can get additional compensation if they declare their valuables whilst checking in their baggage.

For international passengers, it is $1,288 special drawing rights (SDR) which you can access in currency” he said.

On ticket refunds, he explained that refunds shall be made immediately if paid with cash or within 14 days if by bank transfer.

“Refunds via means other than cash must be made within 14 days

However, some delay might be experienced from submission of required documents passenger” he emphasized.

According to him, airlines risk up to N5 million fine for failure to resolve refund issues within regulatory stipulated time.

The Director also warned passengers against false claims as they could be liable.

“We are warning passengers against false claims. For instance, a passenger recently arrived in Nigeria, and claimed an airline staff stole his bag, and even assaulted the staff. We requested the CCTV footage from the airport he transited from, which showed he left his baggage in a lounge. We also had a case somewhere that claimed that her missing baggage had seven Rolex wristwatches, designer bags, designer shoes, designer wigs, and so on. In her mind, the case would be concluded, and the airline would be indicted. Her bag was found intact but the bag had none of the items she claimed she had in it. She didn’t even apologize for lying” he explained.

He also said there is a punishment between N1 million and N10 million for unruly behavior, adding that the passenger also risks a jail term of between six months to one year.

On general assessment since the Ag DG took over the leadership of NCAA, 65 percent of the cases has been resolved while in September alone 100 cases were resolved.

News Dot Africa reports that NCAA is the the agency that has continued to boost the image of the Nigerian aviation sector through its impeccable service delivery.