The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has urged airline passengers and regulatory agencies involved in consumer-related issues in aviation to study and understand the NCAA’s regulatory provisions on consumer protection.
The authority believes that with better-informed passengers and stakeholders, issues regarding passengers’ rights will be more clearly understood.
The director of public affairs and consumer protection at the NCAA, Mr. Michael Achimugu made the call on Thursday during a media briefing in Abuja.
He said, “Passengers must study Part 19 of the NCAA regulations to know their rights and responsibilities. If you know your rights, you can always exercise them, because most of the time, the airlines won’t inform you of your benefits.”
Achimugu explained that the regulations provide timelines and compensations for resolving different passenger complaints.
“We want to address the issue of timeframes in resolving passenger complaints. We’ve observed that passengers and even government agencies who forward complaints to the NCAA often don’t understand the timeframes within the NCAA regulatory framework and global aviation regulations.
Once passengers report a case, they assume it should be resolved within a day or two. We also have instances where government agencies write to us expecting cases to be resolved within three days,” he said.
To correct these misconceptions, Achimugu emphasized the importance of awareness regarding passengers’ rights and obligations.
He outlined the following timelines for specific complaints: For delayed luggage, passengers are entitled to a “First Needs” payment of N10,000 for domestic flights and USD170 for international flights while their baggage is being searched for. However, the USD170 applies only if the airline fails to implement its own baggage delay conditions.
Achimugu further clarified that airlines have up to seven days to search for delayed baggage on domestic flights and 21 days for international flights.
If the baggage is confirmed missing, the liability limit for local airlines is $1,000. However, passengers can receive additional compensation if they declare their valuables when checking in their baggage.
For international passengers, the compensation is 1,288 special drawing rights (SDR), which can be accessed in the currency of the passenger’s choice.
On ticket refunds, Achimugu explained that refunds must be made immediately if paid in cash or within 14 days if paid by bank transfer.
“Refunds via means other than cash must be made within 14 days. However, some delays might occur due to the submission of required documents by the passenger,” he noted.
He added that airlines face a fine of up to N5 million for failing to resolve refund issues within the regulatory time frame.
Achimugu also warned passengers against making false claims, noting they could face penalties.
“We are warning passengers against false claims. For instance, a passenger recently arrived in Nigeria and accused airline staff of stealing his bag and even assaulted the staff. We requested CCTV footage from the airport he transited through, which showed he had left his baggage in a lounge. In another case, a passenger claimed her missing baggage contained seven Rolex watches, designer bags, shoes, wigs and more. She thought the airline would be blamed, but when her bag was found, none of the items she mentioned were in it. She didn’t even apologise for lying,” Achimugu explained.
He further added that unruly behaviour could attract fines between N1 million and N10 million, along with a possible jail term of six months to one year.
