Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, on Tuesday, announced that airlines will soon compensate passengers for flight delays or cancellations.
Speaking before the joint committee on aviation, Keyamo outlined his ministry’s budget and new customer-focused policies.
Regulators will enforce policies requiring airlines to reimburse customers for disrupted flights.
Keyamo noted that he plans to increase sector transparency, including publishing weekly lists of airlines failing to comply with the new scheme.
The Minister said, “I have called the customer’s satisfaction commission regarding the treatment of Nigerians. In fact, I have gone back to the committee, that is how much I am concerned.
“And I have said at the last address that I gave during our stakeholders meeting in Lagos and our retreat in Warri.
“I said on a weekly basis, please publish the list of airlines that do not fly as at when due, canceled flights, delayed flights, how many hours it was delayed, was there compensation, and actions they took as regulator against these airlines. We are starting that in January.
“For every delay, there is a report, an actual report by the regulator. What did they do? Did they pay compensation? And if they didn’t pay compensation, we have said that the other way to get compensation if they can return cash is that once the passenger is buying the next ticket, it must be given a rebate.
“That passenger must be given a 50 percent rebate or 40 percent rebate because there must be a rebate.”
The Minister in October 2023 disclosed that the compensation of travellers is stipulated in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Act.
Keyamo in his call for restructuring Nigeria’s airport at the national assembly hearing, said the best option to develop the airports in the country is through concessions to investors.
He said, “Private partnership must come to the fore. It is not even negotiable, we don’t have the funds to do so (manage the airports).
“In concession, we will give the people what we want, not what they want. We have to decide what we want. It is the nature, the quality of the concession that all of us will agree on.
“We want to go ahead but I want every one of us to sit down, and look for the best hands.
“We should go to the end of this world to look for the best and the best thing for Nigeria and raise our offer to tier one, not tier two. Tier one investors should come to Nigeria and build our gateway for us.”
