The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to sanction additional airlines for breaches related to consumer protection.

This follows recent enforcement actions against several carriers for failing to address passenger complaints and non-compliance with regulatory requirements.

Michael Achimugu, the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, confirmed to Sunday that more sanctions are on the way.”

More airlines will be sanctioned soon for similar violations. The case is currently with the legal department, awaiting the Director-General’s approval,” Achimugu said.

He clarified that the current announcement is not the imposition of the sanctions themselves, but the initiation of enforcement proceedings.

“There is a process in place. My role is to start the sanctioning process, then it is reviewed by the legal department to ensure compliance and avoid legal issues.

Once cleared, the Director-General will sign off, and only then does it become an official enforcement action,” he explained.

Regarding previous sanctions imposed on five airlines, Achimugu noted that some carriers have begun addressing the issues.

“Royal Air Maroc has been summoned for a meeting.

Air Peace’s chairman has publicly acknowledged and accepted the sanctions.

Aero Contractors has confirmed they’ve resolved seven out of the 11 cases that led to sanctions,” he shared.

He also mentioned positive developments from other airlines.

“Ethiopian Airlines has reported resolving some cases, but I have requested a compliance report to verify if those resolutions happened before or after the sanctions.

Arik Air has indicated that their legal team is working on it.”Achimugu emphasized that unresolved issues would still lead to further sanctions.

“Even if airlines claim to have addressed some of the cases, any remaining unresolved issues will still be penalized,” he said.

He also pointed out that failure to respond to NCAA communications is itself a sanctionable offense.

“Failure to reply to NCAA correspondence is an infraction that will also result in sanctions,” he stressed.

The sanctions imposed so far have been mainly financial and do not affect the airlines’ operations.

“The airlines continue to operate, but they will incur fines as outlined in the regulations. Each violation has a specific fine or penalty attached,” Achimugu clarified.

He noted that the NCAA’s actions are already yielding positive results, including faster passenger refunds.

“There’s been a noticeable improvement in the speed of refunds since the sanctions were announced.

This is achieving the results we expected, and we will continue with further actions,” he concluded.

The NCAA had earlier warned airlines against delays in passenger refunds, citing violations of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.

In response, enforcement actions were initiated against Royal Air Maroc, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Peace, Arik Air, and Aero Contractors.

The sanctions followed a surge in passenger complaints, prompting the NCAA to take decisive action.