The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) issued a stern warning to Egypt Air and NG Eagle Airline regarding recent flight disruptions and incidents of short-landed baggage in December 2023. In a concise meeting held in Abuja on Thursday with the Egypt Air team, led by station manager Dr. Nabil Fawzy, Michael Achimugu, the director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, emphasized that the Authority would take action if the issues were not promptly addressed.
Achimugu, speaking on behalf of the acting director-general of NCAA, expressed concern for Nigerian passengers who should not suffer after investing significantly in their flights. He urged Egypt Air to resolve the problems and ensure that the owed compensation of $170 for short-landed baggage is promptly paid to affected passengers.
In a separate meeting with NG Eagle Airline’s management on January 3, 2024, the director reiterated that the NCAA would not hesitate to implement regulatory measures against the airline if it continued to disregard the concerns of its passengers. The director criticized the airline’s lack of communication during flight disruptions, deeming it unacceptable behavior.
According to him, “The minister and the director general are not happy. I was at the airport for another business, I encountered a lot of aggrieved passengers. One thing I feel offended about is the fact that we know flight disruptions happen but when your airline experiences disruptions for whatever reason, your officers disappear. The passengers cannot even meet them for clarifications or support and even the Authority’s Consumer Protection Officers (CPOs) can’t reach your staff. Our CPOs are supposed to get the right briefing from you to be able to advise the passengers’ when they come to our office to complain.”
“For over one week, you had too many cases. This is unacceptable. You have left so much unattended to and we are not happy about it” he said.
He also told them not to further sell tickets until all the technical issues with the airline have been resolved, adding that the airline should have suspended ticket sales immediately if they had technical issues that would take time to resolve.
“If this continues, the hammer has to go down. Regulatory action will have to be taken,” he warned.
He also mandated airlines to always issue public statements on major disruptions of flight operations.
Responding, the accountable manager/managing director, NG Eagle, Capt. Kiddie Dare apologised for the lack of communication by the airline with the passengers and the NCAA.
He explained that they had some technical issues they were trying to resolve hence the several cancelled flights in one week.
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