Samson Echenim 
Nigeria’s aviation regulator, NCAA has expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment over habitual flight delays and disruptions by the country’s largest carrier, Air Peace.
The Director-Generalof the Nigerian CivilAviationAuthority (NCAA) Capt. Chris Najomo on Friday summoned the airline’s management to an emergency meeting to find ways to resolve the airline’s poor services.
At the meeting, The Nigerian Economy gathered that the NCAA boss openly expressed his anger and disappointment over the airline’s recent poor outing, which has left a dirty mark on the industry and the country’s air transport performance.
Capt Najomo ordered the airline to immediately improve its domestic operations owing to complaints of chronic flight delays and cancellations by the travelling public.
Director-General, NCAA, Capt Chris Najomo,
“Capt. Najomo strongly advised the airline to trim its operations to the size of available aircraft presently in its fleet to mitigate the crisis,” said an insider source who was at the meeting held in Abuja on Friday.
The airline representatives at the meeting acknowledged that it had some challenges that were not usual in the industry, but claimed that they were working round the clock to fix them.
However, Capt Najomo assured the airline of NCAA’s support, but warned that the airline and other operators comply with the regulations and global best practices.
Capt. Najomo hinted that the NCAA was increasing its monitoring of flight operations across all airlines to ensure compliance.
Flight delays and disruptions by Air Peace
Between April 1 and 30, 2025, Air Peace operated 171 domestic and recorded 28% flights delays exceeding 15 minutes, and the airline had a cancellation rate of 24%. Earlier in the year, Air Peace faced operational challenges due to bird strikes, which grounded three of its aircraft within a 24-hour period. These incidents led to flight disruptions, for which its passengers cried foul, with many of them switching to other airlines following massive complaints.
Chairman and Chief Executive of Air Peace, Allen Onyema
Air Peace responds
In a swift reaction on Friday, the airline stated it did the right thing by cancelling flights, insisting that it was for safety of its passengers. It hinted that more flights could be cancelled in the coming days if safety requires same.
“At Air Peace, safety is and will always remain our cardinal priority. These delays and cancellations are dictated by safety considerations,” the airline started, urging its users to show understanding.
