The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has announced that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development,
Festus Keyamo, has instructed the regulator to begin publicly naming airlines that violate aviation rules.

In a post on X, Mike Achimugu, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, said airlines that leave passengers stranded at terminals until midnight before cancelling flights are legally required to provide hotel accommodation.

“The regulations stipulate that passengers stranded between the hours of 2200 and 0400 be given accommodation.

“The situation where airline staff intentionally disappear, leaving NCAA Consumer Protection Officers to handle justifiably irate and frustrated passengers will no longer be tolerated.

“While one understands the challenges that operators face in our peculiar operating environment, whoever willfully ventures into a business and wants to remain in it must do it well,” Achimugu said.

He added, “We must not always choose the easy way out. Don’t you want to be called “world class”? Don’t you want to compete at the highest level? If not for the sake of the passengers who trust you to safely fly them, what about for your own pride?”

He emphasized that NCAA staff should not be subjected to avoidable risks while performing their responsibilities of assisting airlines and protecting passengers’ rights.

Achimugu further noted that the authority will impose “the fullest measures possible” for any sanctionable violation and will strictly adhere to its regulations without compromise.

“The federal government has instructed that airlines be named and shamed by the NCAA. While we have done our best to advise per solutions to flight disruptions and why not nearly all cases are the fault of the airlines, the NCAA expects that operators must comply with the regulations in the event of a disruption,” he said.

“In compliance with the directives from the federal government and the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the naming and shaming will commence.”

On January 31, 2024, Keyamo stated that the ministry would start making public the details of flight delays and cancellations by domestic airlines.

He explained that suspending an airline’s operations is not considered an appropriate form of sanction.