FG Says Air Peace, Arik, Others to Start Paying Compensation For Delayed, Cancelled Flights
- The Nigerian Government has told airline operators that they will start paying compensation for delayed or canceled flights
- The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, stated this when airline operators visited him
- The operators asked the Nigerian Government to grant them licenses to begin importation of aviation fuel
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The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has stated that domestic airlines will soon begin to compensate passengers for canceled or delayed flights.
The minister said the Nigerian Government will start pressing airlines to compensate passengers as stated by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Act, TheCable report said.
Source: UGC
Keyamo said:
"At times, you say you were waiting for passengers to finish passing through the screening machine. At times, they have finished passing through screening machines. They wait in the lounge for five hours, and you cancel your flight."
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Airlines with the most flight disruptions
In June this year, the NCAA said Air Peace delayed domestic flights in the first three months of 2023.
The aviation regulator disclosed the information in a report on Nigeria's international and domestic flight operations.
NCAA said of the 18,288 domestic flights in the first quarter of 2023, 10,128 flights were delayed, representing 55%, and 284 canceled flights, representing 1.55%.
The report said Aero Contractors, Arik Air, Azman Air, Dana, Air, Air Peace, Ibom Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Green Africa, Value Jet, and Overland Airways worked during the period under review.
Air Peace led the pack, with 6,521 flights and 3,754 delayed flights, representing 51%. Max Air recorded 1,565 flights, with 1,013 flights delayed, representing 60%; Arik Air had 1,619 flights, with 926 delayed flights, about 47%.
United Nigeria Airlines had 910 flight delays out of the 1,243 flights recorded. Ibom Air, per the report, operated 2,312 flights with 746 delayed flights, while Aero Contractors recorded 1,123 flights with delayed flights.
Overland Airways operated 719 flights, with 605 flights delayed; Dana Air recorded 711 flights and delayed 474, while Green Africa operated 1,182 flights, with 443 delays.
Domestic airlines demand Aviation fuel import license
Domestic airlines under the auspices of Airline Operators of Nigeria have required that the Nigerian Government allow them to obtain the necessary permit for the importation and distribution of aviation fuel, also known as JetA1
They asked the Government to provide a reliable support line for domestic airlines to access Forex from the Central Bank of Nigeria to enable the carriers to meet their obligations to passengers.
Punch reports that the association made the call on Monday, October 9, 2023, during a courtesy call to Keyamo in Abuja,
Abdulmunaf Yunusa said the purpose of the visit was to inform the minister about the challenges in the aviation sector, proffer solutions, and congratulate him on his appointment as a minister.
Aviation companies demand access to Forex
The Chief Executive Officer of Top Brass Aviation, Captain Roland Iyayi, said the sector needed to ensure an adequate aviation fuel supply.
Iyayi said the Government should work to liberalize the procurement and distribution of JetA1 across Nigeria and the association to get the needed license for product import and distribution and an immediate review of all industry levies and charges to ascertain their applicability in line with the cost recovery model.
The Top Brass Aviation boss said that the airline operators are the end users and should be granted a license to lift the product.
Minister promises Forex interventions
Keyamo responded and said the challenge of Forex has lingered but promised the aviation operators that his ministry will collaborate with the Central Bank of Nigeria to help them obtain Forex at a single-digit interest rate of 1.5%.
The NCAA recently identified four unlicensed suppliers of aviation fuel, also known as Jet AI, across airports in the country.
The development follows a recent incident of aviation fuel contamination involving a Nigerian airline, which led to its temporary suspension.
Airline operators put on high alert by NCAA over fuel contamination scare
Legit.ng had reported that the NCAA released an informative notice called the All Operator's Letter (AOL), notifying airline operators about fuel contamination occurrences within the aviation sector.
This action was taken in response to the identification of a significant amount of water found in the fuel tank of a Max Air aircraft. Consequently, all Boeing 737 aircraft in Max Air's fleet operation was temporarily halted last week.
Following the incident that resulted in the grounding of Max Air's aircraft, the NCAA promptly deployed an investigative team to Lagos, Kano, and Abuja—locations where the airline had recently refueled.
Source: Legit.ng
