The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has expressed disapproval of the frequent occurrences of airlines engaging in dishonest departure time scheduling.
Additionally, the NCAA threatened the airlines with severe regulatory repercussions if they continued the violation.
This was announced on Tuesday at the Authority’s corporate offices in Abuja by Capt. Chris Najomo, the acting director general of civil aviation in Nigeria. According to him, the NCAA now takes a zero-tolerance stance against breaking the rules.
In a media interview, the Ag.DGCA stated that upon Capt. Najomo’s appointment, “he made the ease of doing business the crux of his action plan for the NCAA,” through the NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr. Michael Achimugu.
“In line with that action plan, he has made processes for licensing easy for operators.
“The time to secure AOC is now shorter and less cumbersome than it used to be in the past. The NCAA therefore expects reciprocity from airlines.”
According to the Ag.DGCA, operators must provide excellent services to passengers in order to please them, even if the NCAA is making it easier for them to do business. We’ve noticed that certain airlines are receiving complaints alleging that their departure times are misleading.
“The NCAA regulation says no airline shall display deceitful passenger departure time at its counter, advert material, or on its’ website.
“We want to make it very clear clear that the DGCA has directed monitoring and offenders will face serious regulatory actions,” he stated.
He claims that the Authority is committed to economic control, safety, and discipline, as seen by the suspension of 10 PNCF holders who disregarded the April 2024 recertification recommendation.
He said that although the NCAA encourages airlines to be successful due to their vital role in the economy, it’s crucial that travelers receive equitable treatment.
Speaking on the NCAA’s business-friendly atmosphere, Capt. Najomo stated that the Authority will keep enhancing this area.
“This is evident in our high score on the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC) ranking. Recently our sister agency scored 96 percent but the NCAA scored 98.5 percent which is an extremely high score. This is building from the commendable score of 71.04 the NCAA scored during this year’s ICAO Security Audit,”
The numbers are improving and we will continue to do what we can to make the industry safer, and more secure for passengers and stakeholder,” he stated and assured the public
