Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barrister Festus Keyamo (SAN) has directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to within 24 hours issue a public statement on what steps it is taking to ensure that air passengers who are yet to get refund for their air tickets from airlines which suspended their flight operations recently, get refunded.
The minister gave the directive on Thursday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos while launching the NCAA Consumer Protection Portal.
The activated portal would ensure real time lodging of complaints by air travellers and other stakeholders and how the complaints are resolved by NCAA.
In his speech at the event, Keyamo who affirmed that the ultimate goals of aviation is passengers’ satisfaction with services received, however lamented that some airlines who suspended their flight operations some months ago, have not refunded the air tickets of passengers whose trips were disrupted by their flight suspensions.
Insisting that he would not allow this to continue under his watch, the Minister therefore directed NCAA to by tomorrow (Friday) issue a public statement on steps taken to resolve such complaints
“I am not unaware of the complaints of e money has not been refunded by certain airlines that have stopped operations due to safety concerns. I receive a huge number of such complaints in my emails, text messages and direct messages. I have been a lawyer of the Federal Republic for over 30 years before I was called to serve my fatherland. People find a way to send these complaints to me and that is why I receive some of these complaints directly.
“For the airlines that have not refunded passengers’ money, there must be a public statement by the NCAA by the end of Friday latest. Let the public know what is happening to that money. I know you have reached a resolution about that. Let’s not pretend as if we are not hearing anything about this. People bought tickets before the airlines ran into troubled waters. What happened to their money? What plans do you have to refund them? This is part of consumer protection.,” Keyamo directed.
He continued, “Please, the NCAA should come out with a public statement to show what they are doing about resolving the issue.”
Noting that the activation of the Consumer Protection Portal by NCAA would ease complaints and ensure system efficiency, Keyamo lauded the leadership of NCAA, especially for the initiative.
“The final thing that we must achieve in the sector is that the person boarding the aircraft must have good experience, must feel the change either in terms of prices, environment or experience. So, everybody is working for that final consumer, including myself. So, let it be clear that we are all Consumer Protection Officers (CPOs) and it’s not only for those gentlemen and ladies in uniform.
“As a frequent flyer myself, I have seen first hand, the rage of passengers who are either disappointed by delayed flights, cancellations or some ugly experiences on those flights. I have seen the rage and this is a means by which they can ventilate that rage.”
