The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed Air Peace to prepare a compensation package for passengers affected by the delay of a Lagos-Enugu flight.
The directive followed a complaint by human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong, who said the delay caused him to miss a scheduled court appearance in Enugu.
Effiong said he arrived at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos at about 5:50am on Monday for a 6:45am Air Peace flight. He had checked in the previous night because he was expected in court in Enugu that morning for a case scheduled for definite hearing.
According to the lawyer, passengers waited for about an hour before being informed that the flight had been postponed until 4:50pm.
He also questioned why Air Peace had sent passengers a reminder around 2:01am asking them to report for the flight despite the rescheduling.
Effiong said the delay resulted in wasted expenses and affected his planned court appearance.
Responding to the complaint, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the regulator would investigate the matter.
Achimugu later said the NCAA contacted Air Peace, whose chief operating officer claimed that passengers had been notified about the change.
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However, Effiong disputed the claim, saying he did not receive any message informing him that his flight had been rescheduled.
Following a preliminary investigation, Achimugu said the disruption was linked to the effects of flight disruptions that occurred on Sunday night.
He acknowledged that Air Peace should have informed passengers booked on the Monday morning flight about the change.
According to the NCAA official, the airline’s station and duty managers confirmed that the message received by Effiong was sent in error. The message had asked passengers to report early for the flight instead of informing them about the rescheduling.
Achimugu said Air Peace also claimed that affected passengers had been taken to a hotel and were receiving care while waiting for their flight, although the NCAA was still working to confirm the claim.
The NCAA subsequently directed Air Peace to comply with Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023 by preparing a compensation package for the affected passengers and providing the required duty of care.
Achimugu warned that the airline could face sanctions if it failed to meet the required obligations.
The development comes days after NCAA Director-General Chris Najomo warned airlines over increasing flight delays, crew shortages and other consumer-related violations. He urged airlines to ensure their schedules were consistent with the aircraft and crew available to operate them.
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