The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has fined Qatar Airways N5 million for breaching consumer protection rules, signalling a tougher regulatory approach toward airlines operating in the country.

The penalty was announced on Wednesday by NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection,
Michael Achimugu, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“Glad to announce that, today, the NCAA has sanctioned @qatarairways to the tune of five million naira being penalty for consumer protection-related infractions. In addition, the letters of investigation (LOI) written to the airline over other cases may lead to further sanctions if not treated satisfactorily,” Achimugu wrote.

In September, the NCAA accused Qatar Airways of mistreating Nigerian passengers and violating consumer protection provisions under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.

The authority warned the airline of severe sanctions for repeatedly ignoring its directives.

The most recent case involved a Nigerian passenger who was accused of sexual harassment by a Qatar Airways cabin crew member during boarding in Lagos for a U.S.-bound flight via Doha.

The complaint was reportedly filed only upon arrival in Doha, where the passenger was arrested, detained for 18 hours, fined, and made to sign a document written entirely in Arabic.

Qatar Airways then allegedly refused to allow him to continue his trip, forcing him to buy a new ticket—resulting in significant financial loss and reputational damage.

The NCAA stated that it had summoned Qatar Airways’ country manager for a meeting regarding the incident, but he did not attend, sending subordinates in his place.

“I understand that some countries do not have advanced aviation consumer protection regulations like Nigeria does. In certain cases, some countries don’t even have any. This creates a situation where airlines operating out of those countries (mostly national carriers) act with disdain towards consumer protection enforcement in Nigeria.

“This is not a situation that we would accept here. It is against the law for ANY Airlines not to respond to the NCAA. It is against the law to provide false information to the NCAA. It is against the law to fail to comply with the provisions of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023,” Achimugu said in an earlier post.