By Olaitan Ibrahim
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it has began enforcement action against two international and three domestic operators over various violations of Part 19 of its regulations.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection (NCAA), Mr Michael Achimugu, disclosed this when he addressed newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the five operators, which he did not name, were involved in various violations of Part 19 of the NCAA regulations.
The violations include nonpayment of refunds within the stipulated time frame, non-responsiveness to the NCAA’s directives, missing luggage, manhandled luggage, short-landed baggage, delays and canceled flights.
” Although airlines are not always responsible for flight disruptions, NCAA regulations stipulate actions they must take when these occur.
“Failure to comply attracts various levels of sanctions.
“The authority recently warned that it would initiate sanctions if airlines failed to pay refunds within the stipulated time frame of fourteen days for online ticket purchases and immediate cash refunds for tickets purchased by cash,” he said.
He , however, said that incessant disruptions during Yuletide had caused a surge in passengers’ complaints about delays and cancellations.
“We all know that this is harmattan season, so there is poor visibility. Flights must get cancelled.
“This is force majeure, and the airlines do not owe passengers anything in those instances.
“The enforcement we are initiating today is on cases where the airline is deemed to have been at fault. More will come,” the director explained.
He assured that NCAA would be summoning the Chief Executives Officers of all airlines soon to a meeting over flight disruptions and regulatory breaches.