By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has vowed to enforce sanctions against airlines that delay passengers’ luggage.
The regulatory agency said tough measures needed to be taken against airlines that wilfully violate passengers’ right.
NCAA said it will impose fines of $170 and N10,000 on foreign and local airlines, respectively for delayed passengers’ luggage as a first measure to guide against such an act.
The agency’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, revealed this on Monday during a roadshow organized by the regulatory body at the Lagos airport to sensitise passengers who will be travelling during the yuletide.
Achimugu regretted that for a very long time, most of the air travellers were unaware of their rights, which made the airlines continue to violate them.
The NCAA publicist explained that with the roadshow, the travelling public would be more aware of their rights in the NCAA acts and the appropriate quarters to complain to.
He said: “For way too long, Nigerians have been claiming not to know about the existence and the duties of the NCAA. Our duty, which is what we owe Nigerians, is to bring awareness to the industry. The passengers need to become more aware of their rights so that airlines will not continue to cheat them.
“The little things about the regulations that the passengers need to know, for instance, if you arrive at an airport and your luggage didn’t arrive with you, most passengers do not know that they have a right to demand compensation from the airlines.
“If it is a domestic flight, you can walk to the airline’s counter to demand for your N10,000 for not bringing your bag with you. For international flights, it is $170. A lot of passengers do not know this thing, but today, we are bringing an end to that circle of ignorance. We are bringing the regulations to Nigerians in an exciting manner.”
Achimogu maintained that the regulatory body has launched a new website onto which passengers can lodge complaints.
He called attention of potential travellers to this development adding that the purpose is to make reporting easier for airline customers.
Apart from Lagos, Achimugu stated that the roadshow and stakeholders’ summit would also occur in Abuja and Port Harcourt airports.
Meanwhile, an excerpt of an executive summary shows that Air France had the highest number of missing baggage with 2,075 cases among foreign carriers flying into Nigeria.
This was followed by KLM with 1,938; Egypt Air, 1,850; Royal Air Maroc, 1,745, British Airways, 1,428; Lufthansa, 1,535; Kenya Airways with 1,346; and Delta Airlines, 1,101.
Others include Qatar Airways, 980; Ethiopian Airlines, 545; Air Cote d’Ivoire, 424; Rwandair, 365; Asky, 290, South African Airways, 77; Air Peace, 49; Africa World Airlines, 35; Taag Angola, 31; and the Middle East with only five missing luggage.
The summary from NCAA further indicated that no fewer than 19,274 passengers’ luggage, across all airlines – foreign and local were declared delayed/missing in the first half of 2024.
Recall that in October in Abuja, the NCAA had stated that passengers could claim up to $1,000 for missing luggage on domestic flights as well as $1,288 Special Drawing Rights for international flights.
