Airlines must compensate passengers for delayed flights

The Nigerian aviation sector is plagued by a lot of irregularities, like flight delays and cancellations that expose passengers to diverse losses…

The Nigerian aviation sector is plagued by a lot of irregularities, like flight delays and cancellations that expose passengers to diverse losses; man-hour, jobs, business deals, material and psychological. For an industry that is 98 years old, considering the fact that the sector traces its history to 1925 when the first British Royal Air Force landed in Maiduguri and Kano, such abnormalities should have been overcome by now. Delays and cancellations of flights show that the industry has failed to develop and realise the potential of Nigeria becoming the hub of air travels in the West African sub-region.

It may be difficult to accurately quantify the losses passengers and the country incur on a daily basis due to the flaws in the operations of domestic airlines, especially. However, a report released by the General Sales Solution Management Limited (GSSM), an aviation consultancy firm, says as much as $4.3 million (N3.2 billion) was lost monthly in the year 2022, a total of $52.7 million (N40.12 billion). This is a significant loss in any economy, whether in Africa or in the West. The report reveals that out of 80,328 flights operated by domestic airlines in 2022, as many as 47,144 flights were delayed, more than 50 per cent of the total number of flights.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) gives all sorts of excuses for delayed and cancelled flights, like accommodation of impromptu VIP movements; inadequate parking space;  inadequate space for screening and exit points; inefficient passenger access and facilitation; natural and other unforeseen circumstances. These excuses are not tenable. Airlines in other African countries, like Ethiopia and Kenya, have similar social conditions as Nigeria, but they do better in the aviation sector.

The indiscipline in the sector in Nigeria has lingered because airlines are not penalised for their floppy operations. In developed countries, airlines provide hotel accommodation for passengers when flights are cancelled; make refunds for a certain level of flight delays; provide refreshments and transportation or cash equivalent, or put passengers on alternative flights to mitigate the pains passengers suffer due to delays or cancelled flights. This is hardly the case in Nigeria. Passengers are left to their fate when flights are delayed. Airline operators fail to provide precise information about the minutes or hours passengers would have to wait for the next flight; passengers are not supplied with refreshment during waiting periods; and, demonstrating that they are not prepared to take responsibility, airline operators do not make any attempt to compensate passengers who suffer losses due to their failure.

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Perhaps, airline operators exhibit such indiscipline because the regulatory agency, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), fails to hold them accountable in line with the law. The NCAA Act 2015 clearly spells out what airline operators must do in cases of delayed or cancelled flights. Section 19.6 says: “For domestic flights, when an operating air carrier reasonably expects a flight to be delayed beyond its scheduled time of departure, it shall  provide the passengers with reason(s) for the delay within 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time and the assistance specified below :  (i) after two hours, refreshments as specified in section 19.10.1(i) and  telephone calls, SMS and E-mails as specified in section 19.10.2 ; (ii) beyond three (3) hours, reimbursement as specified in Section 19.9.1(i) ; and (iii) at a time beyond 10pm till 4am, or at a time when the airport is  closed at the point of departure or final destination, the assistance specified in sections 19.10.1(iii)and 19.10.1(iv) (hotel accommodation and transport).”

The act in Section 19.9 states clearly the kind of reimbursement passengers are entitled to if their flights are cancelled. It says: “(i)immediate reimbursement in cash for domestic flights and reimbursement within fourteen days for international flights… ; (ii) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity ; or (iii) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger’s convenience, subject to availability of seats.”

The NCAA, from all indications, has indulged airline operators for too long. We, therefore, challenge the regulatory agency to its responsibility of ensuring that airline operators carry out their business in line with industry best practices and the law. Stakeholders in the aviation industry must come together to find a solution to this culture of delayed and cancelled flights. Nigerians have suffered unnecessary hardship as airline passengers due to the regime of excuses in the aviation sector.

We encourage Nigerians to drag airlines that treat them with levity to the court of law. If airlines are unwilling to compensate them for a breach of agreement, our law courts could award damages in line with the law. Our airlines must turn a new leaf or prepare to face the legal consequences of their indiscipline.