Arik, Air Peace, Ethiopian Airlines… NCAA lists operators sanctioned over regulatory infractions

Arik, Air Peace, Ethiopian Airlines… NCAA lists operators sanctioned over regulatory infractions

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced
Air Peace and Ethiopian Airlines among the aviation firms sanctioned over
regulatory infractions.

 

Others are Arik Air, Aero Contractors, and Royal Air Maroc,
said Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s director of public affairs and consumer
protection.

 

On December 24, the aviation authority said it sanctioned
five airlines, comprising two international and three domestic operators, for
violating Part 19 of NCAA Regulations of 2023.

 

The NCAA said the violations include failure to refund
passengers within the stipulated time frame, non-responsiveness to authority’s
directives, incidents of missing and manhandled luggage, short-landed baggage,
and issues relating to flight delays and cancellations.

 

Providing an update after a stakeholders’ meeting with
airlines on Friday, the NCAA commended Air Peace for accepting the enforcement
actions.

 

In a statement, the authority said Allen Onyema, Air Peace’s
chairman, acknowledged some of the infractions by his staff and pledged to
ensure compliance with the NCAA’s directives, particularly regarding timely
passenger refunds.

 

“I am glad that this has happened. I have warned my team.
This shows that the NCAA know what they are doing. I will always acknowledge it
where the fault is ours,” Onyema was quoted as saying.

 

The NCAA also disclosed that Ethiopian Airlines sought
further engagement with the authority regarding the enforcement actions issued
against it.

 

According to the authority, the international airline
expressed readiness to comply with the NCAA’s regulations and pledged to submit
a compliance report by the following day.

 

“This is the first time in over a decade that the NCAA
Consumer Protection Department is initiating sanctions against airlines,” the
statement reads.

 

Chris Najomo, the acting director-general of NCAA, who
chaired the stakeholders’ meeting, advised operators to streamline their flight
schedules to manageable levels to minimise disruptions.

He warned that the NCAA would adopt stricter enforcement
measures against noncompliance, stressing that unruly passenger behaviour will
also not be tolerated.

 

‘AIRLINES MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR INFRACTIONS THEY
CAUSE’

 

Speaking to TheCable on Saturday about the penalties,
Achimugu said the airlines are fully aware of the regulatory process and their
obligations.

 

“The fact that they are already coming out to publicly
accept the sanctions shows that we have done the right thing,” he said.

 

He said Aero Contractors also acknowledged addressing seven
out of the 11 infringements outlined in NCAA’s official letter.

 

Achimugu said Ethiopian Airlines also claimed to have
resolved some of their reported cases, stressing that airlines are required to
formally notify the NCAA once such cases are resolved.

 

“We have told them, if you resolve a case the NCAA brings to
you, you are supposed to give us feedback. We are not witches, we can’t sit
there in our offices and know you resolved a case,” he added.

 

“We wrote you officially, if you have resolved it, you write
us back officially. It is even a crime in itself to not get back to us. It is
also a crime for an airline not to respond to an official communication from
the authority.

 

“So there are penalties for all of these things. And I have
made it very clear that it will no longer be business as usual.

 

“For over 10 years, the consumer protection department of
the NCAA has never sanctioned any airline and I don’t think that is right
because that would mean that airlines have always been behaving well for all
these years and that is not the truth.

 

“But I decided when I came into office to give them one
year, also to give myself time to understand what the issues are.”

 

Achimugu, who acknowledged that many issues stem from
external factors beyond the control of airlines, added that operators must take
responsibility for the infractions they cause.

Source: Arik, Air Peace, Ethiopian Airlines… NCAA lists operators sanctioned over regulatory infractions

 - NigerianEye
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