Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it will not hesitate to sanction Egypt Air and NG Eagle Airline if they do not address the flight disruption, short- landed baggage experienced in the month of December, 2023.
In a terse meeting with the Egypt Air team led by the station manager, Dr. Nabil Fawzy in Abuja on Thursday, the director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu warned that the Authority would not sit down and watch Nigerians suffer after paying so much to enjoy their flights.
Speaking on behalf of the acting director-general of the NCAA, Achimugu also insisted that all compensation for short-landed baggage which is $170 dollars must be paid to the passengers.
In a similar meeting with the management of NG Eagle Airline on the 3rd of January, 2024, the director said the NCAA would not hesitate to activate its regulatory action on the airline if it continues to treat its passengers with contempt.
He said it is unacceptable that the airline makes itself incommunicado when it experiences flight disruptions.
According to him, “The minister and the director general are not happy. I was at the airport for another business, I encountered a lot of aggrieved passengers. One thing I feel offended about is the fact that we know flight disruptions happen but when your airline experiences disruptions for whatever reason, your officers disappear. The passengers cannot even meet them for clarifications or support and even the Authority’s Consumer Protection Officers (CPOs) can’t reach your staff. Our CPOs are supposed to get the right briefing from you to be able to advise the passengers’ when they come to our office to complain.”
“For over one week, you had too many cases. This is unacceptable. You have left so much unattended to and we are not happy about it” he said.
He also told them not to further sell tickets until all the technical issues with the airline have been resolved, adding that the airline should have suspended ticket sales immediately if they had technical issues that would take time to resolve.
“If this continues, the hammer has to go down. Regulatory action will have to be taken,” he warned.
He also mandated airlines to always issue public statements on major disruptions of flight operations.
Responding, the accountable manager/managing director, NG Eagle, Capt. Kiddie Dare apologised for the lack of communication by the airline with the passengers and the NCAA.
He explained that they had some technical issues they were trying to resolve hence the several cancelled flights in one week.
