Flight Disruptions - Passengers Narrate Ordeal - Experts Suggest Solutions
There is a raging concern over recent flight disruptions in the nation's aviation sector following delays and cancellations by airlines, Daily Trust can report. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Friday summoned the management of Air Peace, the biggest domestic carrier in Nigeria, over complaints of flight delays from customers. The meeting with Air Peace was presided over by the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Capt. Chris Najomo, in response to the growing concerns from air passengers who have raised issues with schedules of the domestic carriers. Najomo, at the meeting, directed Air Peace to immediately improve its domestic operations owing to complaints of chronic flight delays and cancellations by the travelling public. He also advised the airline to trim its operations to the size of available aircraft presently in its fleet to mitigate the crisis. According to an update posted on its X account by the NCAA, the airlines' representatives at the meeting acknowledged that it has some challenges that are not unusual in the industry, but they are working around the clock to fix them. The DGCA asserted that while the NCAA will continue to support the airlines, the operators must comply with the regulations and global best practices. Najomo warned that the NCAA is increasing its monitoring of flight operations across all airlines to ensure compliance. Passengers' ordeal Many passengers have been speaking out about their experiences with flight delays and cancellations in recent times. A passenger, who recently shared his experience, said he was delayed for six hours with the passengers kept at the airport for extended periods before the flight was cancelled. "We were kept up till about 2am with no logical explanation for the extended delay and eventual cancellation of the flight. "There was no crew on board to fly and all efforts to persuade them to fly proved abortive, as the captain insisted that his crew allocated time had passed. Passengers, including children were completely stranded yesterday at MMA. "As if that was not enough, to our surprise and disgust, passengers were taken from one cheap hotel to another just to be paired up with total strangers. Some of us had to revolt against their plan while some were left with no choice but to stay in the same room just to pass the night, at the expense of their lives. "This airline jeopardized our welfare and safety for the flimsiest of reasons. This level of incompetence and horrible customer service experience has to be the worst in my life." ...call out UNA over rescheduled flight Similarly, some passengers called out United Nigeria Airlines over what they describe as "chaotic" and "disrespectful" treatment during a flight last weekend. A number of travelers, including a top business executive and other professionals, say they were left stranded for hours at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja due to inconsistencies between their ticket details and the airline's flight schedule. The passengers were travelling to Lagos from Abuja on a 2 pm flight only to get to the airport and they were told there was no flight. However, the airline said the flight was rescheduled to 5:30 pm with a notice sent to the passengers' email address and registered number. One of the affected passengers, Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu who was travelling for a business engagement in Lagos, said he booked the flight slated for Sunday 27th April by 2pm after confirming the same airline choice with his colleague he was traveling with. "We both had tickets for a 2:00 PM flight, only to get to the counter and be told our tickets didn't exist or that the flight was rescheduled for 5:30 PM," the passenger told this reporter. Despite showing their online receipts from Paystack and confirmed booking emails, the airline initially claimed the tickets had not been issued. After two hours of waiting, one of the passengers was reissued a new ticket. Another passenger said what angered many was the attitude of airline staff throughout the ordeal. "There was no apology, no acknowledgment of any error. In fact, the customer care officer told him he should 'say thank you' for being allowed to pay extra," the passenger added. Other travellers who spoke to this reporter at the Lagos baggage claim narrated similar experiences. A Lagos-bound lawyer said: "I arrived at 9am for an 11am flight. At the counter, they told me there was no flight until 5:30pm. No explanation. No apology. I waited for over eight hours." Another passenger said he went home briefly to rest after learning of a delay, only to return and be told the counter had closed--effectively cancelling his flight without refund. "This isn't just bad service. It's a culture of zero accountability," one of the travellers said. "We're being taken for granted, and until the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority steps in, this kind of treatment will continue." But the airline in its explanation said the Abuja-Lagos flight UN 0505 was rescheduled due to operational reasons with the notice sent to the passengers. "Emails and SMS were sent to all passengers informing them of the rescheduled time," the airline said. Delays not due to capacity constraint -- Air Peace But Air Peace, in response to the NCAA, said the recent flight delays and cancellations were not as a result of lack of operating aircraft but due to safety concerns. According to the airline, the delays and cancellations were dictated by safety considerations, as safety remains its "cardinal priority." He said, "We fully empathise with our esteemed passengers who experience discomfort, inconvenience, or disrupted plans due to flight delays or cancellations. However, we do not regret taking operational decisions rooted in the protection of human lives and in strict adherence to safety standards. "If weather conditions, technical parameters, or operational standards fall short of what is safe, we will not operate that flight "It is also important to clarify a key statement allegedly credited to the NCAA, that Air Peace should reduce the size of its operations to align with available aircraft. While we understand the spirit of that recommendation, we must clearly state that Air Peace has more aircraft available than are currently rostered for daily operations. "Therefore, any delays or cancellations we've experienced have absolutely nothing to do with fleet shortage." The airline further explained that an aircraft recently experienced a bird strike incident which damaged its engine in Enugu and it was subsequently withdrawn from operation in accordance with safety protocol. "This aircraft had been scheduled to service multiple routes today, and its unavailability has had a direct ripple effect on operations for those routes. This kind of situation is completely beyond the control of any airline, but again, our priority is the safety of our passengers. "It is to be stated that every decision Air Peace has taken since the inception of this airline, whether resulting in a delay, cancellation, or suspension of flight, has been taken in the best interest of safety. "And if such situations occur again, we will do the same because we are not ready to compromise safety. We do not cancel any flight for the fun of it. It is not our policy to delay or cancel flights without due cause, and when we do, we are often the greater loser financially. We will never sacrifice safety for convenience, comfort, speed, or profit." 'NCAA should begin weekly report on delays, cancellations' Experts who intervened in the ongoing issue of flight delays have called for a weekly report on delays and cancellations to be made public. Olumide Ohunayo, General Secretary of Aviation Roundtable and Safety Initiative, said the weekly report would enable the airlines to sit up. He advised Air Peace to see how it can address the rising complaints on its operations, saying the delays and cancellations cannot be blamed on safety alone. "There's nothing wrong with the statement of the NCAA. That statement was borne out of complaints of consumers, customers and other stakeholders in the industry who had that user's experience. "But rather than that swift defence on safety, I thought Air Peace would have taken a more diplomatic response and begun to work on those systemic challenges which have made cancellations and delays obvious and now seem like a mantra, that even those defending it are no more defending," he said. Aviation analyst, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), said scheduled carriers should be allocated slots and sanctioned hourly if they fail to meet their slots, adding that NCAA should be up and doing. "The domestic operators must be classified by the NCAA to two: Scheduled and Unscheduled. They must be given operational base. FAAN should give the scheduled ones slots at their bases and their scheduled marketing route destinations. "Failure to keep to their slot times must be sanctioned per hour and cancelled after two hours (by FAAN and the NCAA informed) for whatever is the reason except delays are due to airport services, the airport operator must be sanctioned by the NCAA," he said. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( Syndigate.info .