Acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, is set to meet with the Chief Executive Officers of domestic airlines over the rise in flight delays and cancellations.
This is just as the NCAA has written to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, to commence sending daily weather reports to the Department of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection to enable them to ascertain when an airline lies about the weather.
Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection at NCAA, Mr Michael Achimugu, disclosed this on X, formerly Twitter.
Achimugu stated: “I just announced two nights ago the initiation of enforcement action against five airlines. This will be the first time in more than 10 years that such action is being taken by the Consumer Protection Department of the NCAA. How can you say that nothing is being done by the Authority?
“I have immediately written to NiMET to begin to send direct to my office daily weather reports to enable me to ascertain quickly if an airline lies about the weather. Tomorrow morning in Lagos, the Director-General of the NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo is cutting short an important assignment to meet with all the CEOs of domestic airlines in Nigeria. This is proof that the authority cares.
“Three days ago, I voted some money from my hard-earned salary to some indigent passengers who owed refunds by a certain airline whose current situation is critical. I didn’t owe anybody such a courtesy, and it is not sustainable, but it simply shows that the NCAA under Capt. Najomo is humane.
“A lot of disruptions are not caused by the airlines. The solutions must be holistic and Minister Festus Keyamo has shown sterling leadership by resolving the capacity problem that crippled the industry for years. Now, he is focusing on calibrating sunset airports with instrument landing systems, et al. That way, certain airports will not refuse to clear airlines after dark. He has broken the industry from the doldrums of decadence it was forced into. Be patient with him. The industry will not be perfect in just one year, but significant progress has been made.”
