In a move to enhance transparency and accountability in the aviation sector, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has announced plans to launch its consumer protection portal in August.
This announcement follows efforts by the NCAA to address widespread consumer complaints within the aviation sector.
According to the regulator, the portal will allow passengers to log complaints, track the on-time performance of airlines, and access self-reported data on the resolution of cases, making airline performance data publicly accessible and transparent.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, told NewsNow, “The Consumer Protection Portal of the NCAA will soon be going live, where people can log in their complaints. And be able to see the on-time performance of all of the airlines with regards to the numbers of cases reported to them, how many of those cases have been resolved, and how many are pending.”
He explained that the portal would have a self-reporting system, making airline performance data accessible to the public.
“It is a system that self-reports. So each airline will be reporting itself to the general public by the board that measures its performance. So if a particular airline is not doing very well in that regard, it will be open and transparent for everybody to see,” he explained.
According to Achimugu, the NCAA aims to launch this automated system before the end of August.
“It is ready; it is just some other things that we want to launch at the same time with the portal,” the NCAA spokesperson added.
Recall that the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, said regulators of the aviation sector would begin to compel airlines to compensate passengers for delayed or cancelled flights by January 2024.
Keyamo also assured travellers that a list of airlines that delayed or cancelled flights would be published in the media weekly as part of the compensation scheme.
Because of that, the NCAA said that it had recorded a substantial success rate in enforcing airline refunds, with a record of 65 to 70 per cent success in resolving related issues.
He said, “We have recorded a 65 to 70 per cent success rate with enforcing refunds.”
According to Achimugu, this progress comes amid ongoing challenges in the aviation industry, where delays and cancellations have often sparked conflicts between airlines and passengers.
Highlighting the complexity of the issue, the Achimugu noted, “Remember that the honourable minister also did inform us that some of the delays are not the fault of the airlines.
“Even when it is the fault of the passengers, they still blame the airlines. He further illustrated this point with a recent incident.
“Sometimes, some of the issues are down to ground operations. Recently, I had someone complain, asking for a refund as compensation. When I reminded him of the regulations saying that he was supposed to be at the airport at least two hours before the flight, he became angry. He got to the airport 30 minutes before the time of departure, by which time the check-in counters had already closed.”
Achimugu emphasised the need for fairness in evaluating such complaints, saying, “So, when things like this happen, we also need to be fair to the airlines. We need to measure whether it is the fault of the airlines or the fault of the passengers.”