The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has cried out over the high rate of flight delays and cancellations in recent times.
Acting Director-General of NCAA, Chris Najomo revealed that out of 5,291 flights operated in September 2024, 2,434 were delayed while 79 were cancelled.
He further stated that out of 5,513 flights operated in October 2024, 2791 were delayed while 111 flights were cancelled.
Najomo disclosed these on Friday, 27 December, 2024 during a stakeholders’ meeting with the theme, ‘Finding lasting solutions to flight disruptions’.
recall that Najomo on Friday, 27 December, 2024 convened a meeting arilines’s chief executive officers with amid the consistent flight delays and cancellations during the festive season.
The stakeholders meeting is being attended by airline operators; Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, representatives of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, among others.
Chairman/CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema is also in attendance with other members of the airline operators association.
Najomo stated that he has been inundated with calls from the Presidency, the National Assembly and the Ministry concerning the flight problems.
“The Senate President called me asking what are we doing about these disruptions. A lot has happened in the last one week,” he said.
Najomo also said that while he understands the challenges faced by the airlines having been an operator himself before becoming a regulator, he would not sit down and watch things continue going wrong.
He reminded the operators of the provisions of the NCAA Regulations on Passenger Rights during disruptions, as outlined in the Nigeria Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection) Regulations, 2023.
He advised the airlines to handle delays in a most professional way, saying poor management of delays is the issue with the operators.
Najomo also warned passengers against destroying airlines’ property and beating up their employees over delays, saying unruly behaviour would not be tolerated.
