Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has berated domestic airlines’ characteristic delay in refunding their passengers, admonishing them to stop the behaviour.
Condemning the trend, NCAA image maker and director Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu said domestic airlines taking four weeks to pay refunds to passengers instead of 14 days as stipulated in the NCAA regulations undermines the powers of the regulator.
Achimugu, who stated this via his verified official X handle, @mikeachimugu01 on Monday, warned that “there cannot be two captains in-command” in Nigeria’s aviation services industry, maintaining that NCAA regulations must be obeyed to the letter by all airlines.
“Domestic airlines NEED to stop telling passengers that their refund process takes 4 weeks. There can’t be two captains-in-command on an aircraft,” Achimugu tweeted.
“The NCAA regulations are clear about the timeframe for ticket refunds, and it is 14 days. Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023 remains in force. Operators cannot create a different rule in this regard.”
You Might Be Interested In
Nigeria begins enforcement of revised insurance regulation for leased aircraft
NCAA organises consumer awareness event to sensitize air travellers in Abuja
NCAA fumes after Nigerian man fined in Doha for allegedly touching hostess’ butt aboard Qatar Airways
Achimugu urged air transport users to forward to his official emails, communications with an airline if it states that refund would take four weeks to process.
“To all the passengers: if you apply for a refund and an airline tells you that it would take 4 weeks, kindly forward that communication to michael.achimugu@ncaa.gov.ng ifueko.abdulmalik@ncaa.gov.ng cpd@ncaa.gov.ng immediately,” Achimugu advised.
“Enough of this. We cannot all claim to be working for the improvement of the industry and be duplicating rules in a manner that undermines the Authority and is unfair to passengers,” he stated.
END
