Air Peace under fire for flouting FG’s directive, delays passengers for hours

Despite the federal government’s effort to ensure on time travel for air passengers across the nation’s airports, Air Peace is the latest airline to flout the government’s directive by delaying Abuja-bound passengers for over three hours on Monday evening.

 

The passengers who were visibly angry also complained that the airline refused to give adequate information to stranded passengers while the delay lasted.

 

Recall that the minister of aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika had in July, 2021 warned that airline operators in the country must refund the full cost of travel tickets to passengers after a two-hour delay.

 

He said: “On domestic flights, delays beyond one hour, the carrier should provide refreshment, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one e-mail. They should send you an SMS or email or call you to say, ‘I am sorry, I am delaying for one hour’.

 

“Delay for two hours and beyond, the carrier shall reimburse passengers the full volume of their tickets.”

 

“Delay between 10pm and 4am, carrier shall provide hotel accommodation, refreshment, meal, two free calls, SMS, email and transport to-and-fro airport.’’

 

The minister, who maintained that the same rules apply for international flights, said his ministry had started sanctioning some airlines that defaulted and urged passengers not to be unruly at airports.”

 

However, the government’s position on flight delays and cancellations came against the backdrop of public outcry over the phenomenon, especially by air travellers.

 

But, three months after coming up with stiffer sanctions against flight delays and cancellations in the country, airlines still flout the directive with reckless abandon.

 

The 19:00 Abuja-bound Air Peace flight from Lagos to Abuja was delayed for over three hours with no reasonable information made available to the passengers.

 

It was, however, gathered that passengers for the Abuja- bound flight were not boarded until 21:15, thereby disrupting passengers’ itinerary for the day.

 

Speaking on the development, the secretary general, Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Group Capt. John Ojikutu (retd), said any delay not occasioned by technical or environmental circumstances such as sudden faulty engine; scarcity of aviation fuel, delays due to traffic, weather, airports facilitation process should be queried by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s Customers Protection Unit.

 

“Delays and cancellations may be due to several reasons which could be technical or environmental challenges such as sudden faulty engine, scarcity of fuel, ATCS delays due to traffic, weather, airports facilitation process etc. If there are other reasons other than these the NCAA’s consumer protection unit would call the relevant or concerned operators to order,” he said.

 

Also speaking, the immediate past secretary-general, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Olayinka Abioye, said the NCAA should strengthen the aviation system by applying sanctions in its status books to defaulting airlines.

 

According to him, NCAA should let air passengers know their rights that passengers delayed for one hour are entitled to a refreshment while for more than two hours, they are entitled to a refund of their ticket fee.

 

The union leader said: “The minister meant well when he made the pronouncement and it is for the airlines not to take passengers for granted and if they do, they are to be sanctioned. The requisite sanctions are in the NCAA’s statute books.