Flight delays, cancellations: How airlines trample on passengers’ rights

The way air travellers in Nigeria are being subjected to untold hardships in the hands of domestic as well as foreign airlines operating in the country is of serious concern which needs to be addressed by the authorities. They are being humiliated as they always suffer disruptions and cancellations of flights by airlines and treated […]

The way air travellers in Nigeria are being subjected to untold hardships in the hands of domestic as well as foreign airlines operating in the country is of serious concern which needs to be addressed by the authorities.

They are being humiliated as they always suffer disruptions and cancellations of flights by airlines and treated shabbily in breach of extant laws.

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Data reported by Daily Trust show that at least 50 percent of flights operated monthly in the country are delayed.

According to the reports, out of the 14,662 domestic flights operated in the country, 7,554 which are about 52 percent were delayed in the first quarter of 2021.

What the law says

What is needed to be done as regards compensation, welfare and other issues related to cancellations or delays of flight by airlines vis-a-vis passengers’ rights have been clearly spelt out in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CAR) 2015 (as amended). 

Part 19.6 of the regulation which talks about domestic flight delays states that, “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).

“In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall, according to section 6 of the part: (i) Be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Sections 19.6. and; (ii)  Be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Sections19.9.1(i) and 19.9.2 as well as, in the event of re-routing when the reasonably expected time of departure of the new flight is at least the day after the departure as it was planned for the canceled flight, the assistance specified in Sections 19.9.1(ii) and19.9.1(iii); (iii) In respect of domestic flights, have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Section 19.10 unless they are informed of the cancellation at least twenty-four hours before the scheduled time of departure…”

From the perspective of the regulatory authority, the NCAA, airlines are expected to carry along the passengers when flights are going to be delayed, especially for safety-related reasons.

However, because of the breach of most of the provisions of these regulations, the menace of flight delays and cancellations has robbed many people of the joy of air transportation.

In recent times, the incidents of flight delays have become a common place. Travellers have had to miss critical appointments while important schedules have been disrupted over flight delays.

Bad experiences

Many passengers have stories to tell of their experience with flight delays and in some cases cancellations.

A passenger who simply identified herself as Juliet narrated how her flight from Abuja to Lagos was delayed for seven hours. “Worse still the weather was so bad on our way to Lagos. It was a near-crash experience.

The flight was slated for 4 p.m. but we left the airport in Abuja by 9 p.m.,”she said. Asked the reason for the delay, she said they were told the delay was due to “operational reasons,” adding that no compensation was provided for the frustrated passengers at the airport.

Another passenger, Mr Chigozie IK, told Daily Trust how he missed an important business meeting in Kano when he got to the airport and was told the flight had been cancelled.

He said, “The meeting was slated for Monday and I bought a return ticket to travel on Sunday evening. On getting to the airport, I was told the flight had been cancelled.

“The following morning, I thought the flight would have been rescheduled, but was shocked to see that no flight was going that route that morning. Consequently, I missed that appointment.”

Government to wield the big stick

As a result of the persistent recurrence of these incidents, the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, recently threatened that airlines would now make 100 percent refund to passengers after a two-hour delay.

He said: “On domestic flights, delay beyond one hour, the carrier should provide refreshment, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one e-mail.

“They should send you an SMS or email or call you to say, ‘I am sorry, I am delaying for one hour.’ Delay for two hours and beyond, the carrier shall reimburse passengers the full volume of their tickets.

“Delay between 10 pm and 4am, the carrier shall provide hotel accommodation, refreshment, meal, two free calls, SMS, email and transport to-and-fro airport.”

He said the same rules would also be applied to international flights.

However, passengers said most local operators delay or cancel flights without providing sufficient reasons.

The Yuletide period was most traumatic for most passengers who got stranded at the various airports owing to flight delays.

This caused chaos especially at the Murtala Muhammad Airport terminal two (MMA2) as many passengers were stranded awaiting their flights to be called. 

Operators explain

However, airlines insist delays or cancellations of flights are unavoidable in some instances and such instances come at a great cost to them. “I don’t think any airline will cancel flights for the sake of cancelling flights,” Chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, said in an interview recently.

He explained that an airline could delay a flight if the operating aircraft develops a snag and for safety reasons, such an aircraft would be grounded until the issue, no matter how minute, is fixed. 

He added, “So, there are so many reasons for cancellation…We had a bird strike on one of our planes and this is the second time we are having a bird strike on the brand new plane and that grounded the aircraft. Now that one of them is grounded, we have called on the manufacturers and they are sorting it out.

“No airline wants to delay or cancel flights; it is more expensive to do that. No airline wants to delay flights; it is not in their best interest, but as a result of safety, flights may be cancelled or rescheduled. It is for the safety of the passengers and equipment.”

Another operator who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said many airlines don’t reveal the actual cause of delays to passengers because of lack of trust between them.

The operator said, “Nigerian travellers don’t actually trust their airlines. They don’t trust their airlines and aviation has gone beyond that. The system we have now is a solid system and well regulated. The NCAA is on top of their game.

“No airline wants to fly a faulty plane. The people who are flying these planes are human beings too. “Number 2, Nigerian passengers don’t understand a lot of things about aviation.

“When you tell them there is a technical issue, they tell you, wow, you want to kill us. There is a technical issue, the airline has grounded the aircraft or delayed the aircraft so the issue can be resolved.

“Why are they delaying the aircraft? It is because they want the issue to be fixed before it can be flown. However, the passengers don’t trust the airlines and they don’t know a lot about some of these things.

“Number 3, we are not permitted to talk about VIP movement. There are VIP movements which we are not allowed to talk about. You can only talk about weather because they know; they see and understand weather. But you can’t talk about VIP movements and the other issues that I just mentioned.

“So these are the issues. A lot of people know jack about what this industry is all about, how the industry is faring and all. So we need to do a lot of talking; a lot of enlightenment needs to go out there but it will take some time. They are beginning to understand but it will take some time.”

The passengers’ rights

December and January are notorious for flight cancellations, delays due to harmattan haze.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), acting on the forecast by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), had already issued a circular alerting airline operators and pilots that the prevalence of the hazy weather would persist till March 22.

The DG of NCAA explained that Pilots/Operators should expect: Moderate to severe dust haze, early morning fog especially along the coastal areas, which in some instances can reduce horizontal visibility to less than 200 metres between November 2021 and March 2022.”

He said there would be air-to-ground visibility reduction due to dust haze or fog while aerodrome visibility may fall below the prescribed operating minima.

He added, “In severe conditions, dust haze can blot out runways, markers and airfield lighting over wide areas making visual navigation extremely difficult or impossible.

“Flights are bound to be delayed, diverted or cancelled where terminal visibility falls below the prescribed aerodrome operating minima.”

But some passengers said lack of communication by airlines in some cases worsens their plights. They said it is not enough to attribute the delays to “operational reason”; they are entitled to know the actual cause of the delays. 

A lot of passengers’ plights are compounded when they miss their flights on account of coming late to the airport and they are surcharged and nothing is done to airlines that delay their flights for hours.

General Manager, Public Relations of the NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye, in a chat with our correspondent said, “The NCAA position is that passengers are the reason we are in business and as such should be well treated.

“It follows therefore that they are told ahead of time about any operational hitches that arose, so that all concerned can re – arrange their trips and reason for the trips.

“NCAA will back an operator of a flight that is to be delayed on account of bad weather or have issues with fuelling or engine problems or any other snag.

“But passengers must be carried along. Anything short of that will not be allowed by the authority. Violation of our regulation is viewed seriously in the NCAA and appropriate sanction is meted out accordingly.”