The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has announced that aviation regulators in Nigeria will enforce rules compelling airlines to compensate passengers for delayed or cancelled flights starting from January 2024. Keyamo made this disclosure during a session with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Aviation to present the ministry’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
The move comes in response to concerning data from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), indicating that more than half of domestic flights between January and March experienced delays. Out of a total of 18,288 domestic flights during this period, 10,128 were delayed, accounting for 55% of the total.
To ensure accountability, Keyamo pledged to publish a weekly list of airlines that have delayed or cancelled flights, along with details of the compensation provided. The compensation scheme is set to include a discount deducted from the flight tickets of airlines that fail to adhere to stipulated timelines.
Keyamo emphasized the need for transparency and customer satisfaction, underscoring the government’s commitment to holding airlines accountable for their operational performance. The proposed measures aim to improve the overall travel experience for passengers and encourage airlines to prioritize punctuality.
“I have called the customer’s satisfactory commission regarding the treatment of Nigerians. In fact, I have gone back to the committee, that is how much concern I am concerned.
“And I have said at the last address that I gave during our stakeholders meeting in Lagos and our retreat in Warri.
“I said on a weekly basis, please publish the list of airlines that do not fly as at when due, cancelled flights, delayed flights, how many hours it was delayed, were there compensation, actions they took as regulator against these airlines. We are starting that in January.”
The aviation minister proposed that a discount should be deducted from the flight tickets of airlines that delayed passengers as part of the compensation.
“For every delay, there is a report, an actual report by the regulator. What did they do? Did they pay compensation? And if they didn’t pay compensation, we have said that the other way to get compensation if they can return cash is that once the passenger is buying the next ticket, it must be given a rebate. That passenger must be given a 50 per cent rebate or 40 per cent rebate because there must be a rebate.”
