The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) through its Consumer Protection Department (CPD) on Monday staged a mega road show in Lagos to educate and sensitise Nigerians on its regulations, the rights and responsibilities of air passengers as well.
The Monday road show which is a prelude to the NCAA Consumer Protection National Stakeholders Summit on Tuesday November 18, 2024, at the NCAA Annex Hall, Murtala International Muhammed Airport, Lagos, took off early in the morning from the agency’s Lagos office and moved to the the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), MMA2 and to other parts of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos.
Speaking during the road show, Director of Public Relations and Consumer Protection of NCAA, Mr. Michael Achimugu stated that after the road show Nigerians will become more aware and educated about NCAA regulations and their rights and responsibility as well.
Achimugu disclosed that after Lagos the trend will move to Abuja on Friday and 1st week of December to Port Harcourt.
According to him,”our expectations is that Nigeria will become more educated on NCAA regulations and their rights and responsibility as well as the exercise aims to sensitize air travellers about their entitlements while highlighting the importance of fulfilling their obligations”.
He explained further that the airlines are now on their toe, stressing that “like we told the public before, the portal will be revealing the rate at which the airlines are resolving these complaints. At the end from now to January, passengers will see that these complaints are resolved real time and on time and is going to impact on the way airlines treat this issues”.
Achimugu noted that the NCAA is educating passengers on their rights as part of its nationwide effort to foster a culture of accountability within the aviation industry.
He stated that, the idea is to ensure broader outreach during the peak travel season.
The Director of Public Relations and Consumer Protection emphasised that:
“This festive season heightens travel demand, and passengers must be aware of their responsibilities.
Despite the rights that passengers stand to enjoy in case of any flight disruptions, Achimugu advised passengers to always arrive to the airport in good time.
Passengers must arrive two hours before domestic departures and three hours for international flights.These guidelines ensure smoother operations and prevent undue disruptions”.
Explaining more compensation protocols, Achimugu pointed out that: “If your baggage is missing, the airline must compensate you immediately. For domestic flights, it is N10,000, while international flights attract $170 under NCAA regulations.”
He advised passengers against unruly behaviour adding that the agency has zero-tolerance to unruly passenger behavior
Achimugu enjoined travellers to exercise patience and report grievances professionally.
In his words: “Nigerians often claim ignorance of the NCAA’s role in protecting their rights, but we are here for them. With our Consumer Protection Officers stationed at twenty-three terminals nationwide, passengers can be rest assured of immediate assistance.”
He urged the passengers to identify these CPD officers, who wear uniforms for easy recognition, and approach them for support.
Speaking on the roadshow also, Nollywood actress, Chioma Omeruah who was on ground during the road show said lack of information has been one of the reasons why some air passengers have problems.
With the awareness being created by NCAA, Chioma, popularly known as Chigul is of the view that Nigerians would have a better travelling experience.
She said “One of the reasons we have problems is because we don’t have enough information. The NCAA is trying to let us know that we do have rights and responsibilities as air passengers. This is a case of relearning of good behavior and unlearning of bad behavior on the part of the consumers and airlines. And even NCAA because the regulatory agency is also looking at what they are doing. What NCAA is doing right now is amazing because as a passenger I have experienced a lot of flight disruptions and I never knew where to go. I didn’t know I could approach NCAA because I wasn’t aware.
In her remarks also, another Nollywood actress, who was part of the road show in Lagos, Maureen Solomon Okeke explained that before now, she never knew about NCAA and all the efforts the agency has been putting in place for air passengers rights before now.
Maureen Solomon noted that : “First of all, until recently, I don’t know about NCAA and all these informations exist. It is a simple thing but with their uniform, you know where to go and demand for our rights when things go wrong like missing baggage. Most Nigerians do not demand for our rights a lot of times. It is not our fault because for sometime, we have been in the situation where you feel nobody is going to fight for you. With this NCAA initiative, it will no longer be business as usual”.
She pledged to use their influence to talk to passengers and create awareness, just for the people to know their rights.
The actress called on the NCAA to implement all the promised they have rolled out for passengers concerning their rights.
It will be recalled that the NCAA had recently introduced another portal known as the Centralised Passenger Information Portal (CPIP) to provide additional layer of protection for air travel consumers. The newly introduced CPIP was to beef up the Consumer Protection Portal recently unveiled to address issues and agitations arising from flight delays and cancellations.
Meanwhile , passengers on ground during the roadshow at the airports visited in Lagos lauded the NCAA for the new vision and initiative, stating that both the airlines and other service providers like the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, NAMA and other ground handlers will sit up and handle their responsibility professionally .
