Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued a stern warning to domestic airlines over misleading refund policies, insisting that passengers are entitled to ticket refunds within 14 days, not four weeks as commonly claimed.
Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, made the declaration in a post shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday.
“Domestic airlines NEED to stop telling passengers that their refund process takes 4 weeks,” Achimugu wrote. “There can’t be two captains-in-command on an aircraft.”
He cited Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023, which clearly stipulates that refunds must be processed within 14 days of application.
According to him, any deviation from this timeline is a violation of regulatory standards and undermines the authority of the NCAA.
Achimugu emphasized that airlines do not have the liberty to create alternative rules outside the established framework.
“To all passengers: if you apply for a refund and an airline tells you that it would take 4 weeks, kindly forward that communication to [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected] immediately,” he stated.
He described the four-week refund claim as unfair to passengers and detrimental to the integrity of the aviation industry.
“Enough of this. We cannot all claim to be working for the improvement of the industry and be duplicating rules in a manner that undermines the Authority,” he added.
The NCAA’s directive is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen consumer protection and ensure compliance with aviation regulations across Nigeria’s domestic airspace.
