‘You Will Face Serious Regulatory Actions’

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced that airlines engaged in deceitful departure schedules will henceforth be penalised.

Naija News reports that the NCAA’s acting director-general, Chris Najomo, made this known in a statement on Tuesday, July 9, issued by the director of public affairs and consumer protection, Michael Achimugu.

Najomo warned airlines to desist from the infraction or face dire regulatory actions, stressing that the authority now runs a zero-tolerance approach to regulatory infractions.

He said if the NCAA facilitated a business-friendly environment for operators, the operators must satisfy the passengers with superior services.

Speaking further, Najomo said the authority believes in safety, discipline, and economic regulation, which is evident in the recent suspension of 10 permits for non-commercial flights (PHCF) holders for failing to comply with the recertification advisory issued in April.

He said, “Ease of doing business is the crux of the D-G’s action plan for the NCAA. In line with that action plan, he has made processes for licensing easy for operators,” he said.

“The time to secure AOC is now shorter and less cumbersome than it used to be in the past. The NCAA therefore expects reciprocity from airlines. Chief of which is world-class services to passengers.

“It has come to our notice that some airlines are being reported for advertising deceitful departure times. The NCAA regulation says no airline shall display deceitful passenger departure time at its counter, advert material or on its website.

“We want to make it very clear that the D-GCA has directed monitoring, and offenders will face serious regulatory actions.

“This is evident in our high score on the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC) ranking. Recently our sister agency scored 96 per cent but the NCAA scored 98.5 per cent which is an extremely high score,” he said.

“This is building from the commendable score of 71.04 per cent the NCAA scored during this year’s ICAO Security Audit.

“The numbers are improving and we will continue to do what we can to make the industry safer, and more secure for passengers and stakeholders.”

On the difficulty in refund processes by airlines, Najomo said all refunds must be handled without undue delay and completed within 14 working days, irrespective of the ticket purchase method.