In the months of September and October, 2024, domestic airlines in Nigeria cancelled a total of 190 flights and delayed 5,200 scheduled flights resulting in thousands of manhour losses to air transport users and their businesses.
The acting Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo provided the data on Friday, while expressing disturbing concerns about flight disruptions by domestic airlines during a stakeholders’s meeting at the NCAA annexe, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The stakeholders meeting was themed, “Finding Lasting Solution to Flight Disruption.”
“Our flight operations data record indicates that in September, 2024, five thousand two hundred and ninety-one domestic flights were operated with 2,434 delays and 79 cancellations.
In October, 2024, 5,513 flights were operated with 2,791 delays and 111 cancellations recorded,” Najomo said.
The NCAA boss stressed the need for airlines to manage these disruptions professionally, especially during the challenging harmattan season. He also reiterated the mandatory nature of passenger rights regulations and warned of penalties for non-compliance.
Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo
He said: “Air travel is not just about transporting passengers from one point to another; it is about doing so with reliability, efficiency, and accountability. When delays and cancellations occur, they disrupt plans, cause financial losses, and undermine passenger confidence in our aviation system.
“Delays and cancellations are sometimes inevitable, but poor management of these disruptions is not. It is the responsibility of airlines to ensure that every disruption, whether due to operational, technical, or weather-related challenges, is handled with the utmost professionalism and regard for passengers’ rights. Particularly as we are in the harmattan season with poor weather conditions that will affect flight operations.”
Najomo maintained that the NCAA was committed to working with airlines to enhance service delivery and restore public confidence in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
