NCAA To Sanction Airlines Over False Schedules

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced that it now runs a zero-tolerance to regulatory infractions of airlines in the country.

It stated that it would sanction airlines engaged in deceitful departure time scheduling.

The Acting Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs/Consumer Protection, Mr Michael Achimugu, on Tuesday, July 9.

The NCAA warned the airlines to desist from the infraction or face dire regulatory actions.

“The NCAA now runs a zero-tolerance approach to regulatory infractions. Ease of doing business is the crux of the D-G’s action plan for the NCAA. In line with that action plan, he has made processes for licensing easy for operators. The time to secure AOC is now shorter and less cumbersome than it used to be in the past. The NCAA therefore expects reciprocity from airlines. Chief of which is world-class services to passengers,” he said

Najomo was quoted as saying that, if the NCAA was enabling a business-friendly environment for operators, then the operators must satisfy the passengers with superior services.

“It has come to our notice that some airlines are being reported for advertising deceitful departure times. The NCAA regulation says no airline shall display deceitful passenger departure time at its counter, advert material or on its website. We want to make it very clear that the D-GCA has directed monitoring and offenders will face serious regulatory actions,” Najomo said.

On the difficulty in refund processes by airlines, Najomo said all refunds by airlines must be done devoid of undue delays and the process should conclude in 14 working days regardless of the mode of purchase of the tickets.

On the suspension of PHCF licenses of ten operators, he explained that they had been advised since April 2024 to commence the process for recertification but they refused to comply this left the Authority with no option but to sanction them.