•Passengers groan, count losses

By Prince Okafor

THE indications that domestic air travellers may stay longer with incidences of flight delays and cancellations as airlines give a long list of challenges that have compelled them to such poor performance.

This is coming on the heels of the inability of the aviation authorities, including the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, airlines and other stakeholders in the country’s inability to address the shortfall in the sector.

The development has become a norm in Nigeria’s aviation sector, as over 60 per cent of flights operating in the country are being delayed, while about 13 per cent are cancelled according to statistics obtained from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA.

A breakdown of the challenges responsible for the constant flight delays include: foreign exchange, scarcity of aviation fuel also known as Jet A1, inadequate check-in counters, airport apron area not enough, airports across the country are mostly sunsets thus unavailable for night operations.

Stakeholders have stated that the issue of delays was not solely the airlines’ responsibility as those supposed to provide infrastructure and support the airlines were not given Nigerian airlines adequate infrastructure to support their business.

Also, the Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, has called on the FAAN to increase the number of check-in counters to reduce flight delays experienced by passengers at the airports.

According to AON, Vice President, Allen Onyema airlines are experiencing inadequate counters to check in thousands of passengers, especially during the yuletide period when there would be an increase in passenger traffic.

“Flight delays and probably cancellations may be a topic for discussion this yuletide if nothing is done about the current inadequate counters for domestic airlines to check-in passengers, especially at the Abuja Airport.

“Most airlines have brought in new aircraft from two to ten to augment their operations during the yuletide but the challenge is beyond fleet size.

“This is especially if facilitation is slowed as a result of the lack of capacity of the airport to handle flights from Abuja to destinations like Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kano, Uyo, Asaba etc, all at once.

“Even in international operations, domestic airlines are left with three counters to operate.

“I wrote to FAAN, the Ministry of Aviation on the issue of the Abuja check-in counters, saying that it was not encouraging for nine or ten airlines to be assigned in one small space.”

In response to the development, the Managing Director of FAAN, Rabiu Yadudu, assured stakeholders that they are going to do something about it.

Passengers groan, count losses

The cancellation and delay of flights have frustrated most travellers who may not be able to do away with air transportation, following the high rate of insecurity across the country.

A traveller, Fadugba Ekundayo who narrated his ordeal in a Facebook message, stated that after Airpeace cancelled a 3.00 pm Ibadan-Abuja flight he had booked earlier  he decided to try Ibom Air  since he was already at the airport when he learnt of the cancellation.

He said: “I had an appointment to keep, so I booked Lagos to Abuja for 8.00 pm, and opted to travel by road for three hours to catch the flight in Lagos.

“Ibom air without any form of apology except for the usual operational reasons delayed the flight till about 10: 30 pm.

“In Lagos, I saw passengers of Max Air heading to Kano, whose flight had been slated for 6:00 pm, still stranded at the airport. When I eventually arrived in Abuja shortly before midnight, I ran into robbers who snatched my phones and other valuables just as I was leaving the airport.”

Weak Regulations

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had in July, directed airlines to reimburse passengers after a two-hour delay, but Vanguard Aviation World gathered no airline has yielded to the directive.

Also, the NCAA had in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig. CAR) 2015 (as amended) advised travellers on steps needed to be taken in regards to compensation, welfare and other issues related to cancellations or delays of flights by airlines vis-à-vis.

Part 19.6 of the regulation on domestic flight delays states that, “When an operating air carrier reasonably expects a flight to be delayed beyond its scheduled time of departure, it shall provide the passengers with reason(s) for the delay within 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time and the assistance specified below: (i) After two hours, refreshments as specified in section 19.10.1(i) and telephone calls, SMS and E-mails as specified in section 19.10.2; (ii) Beyond three (3)  hours, reimbursement as specified in Section 19.9.1(i); and (iii) At a time beyond 10pm till 4am, or at a time when the airport is closed at the point of departure or final destination, the assistance specified in sections 19.10.1(iii)and 19.10.1(iv) (hotel accommodation and transport).

“In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall, according to section 6 of the part: (i) Be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Sections 19.6. and; (ii)  Be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance with Sections19.9.1(i) and 19.9.2 as well as, in the event of re-routing when the reasonably expected time of departure of the new flight is at least the day after the departure as it was planned for the cancelled flight, the assistance specified in Sections 19.9.1(ii) and19.9.1(iii); (iii)

There’re regulations but weak enforcement — Expert

Following the perennial delay and cancellation challenges, a former commandant at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd.), noted that the challenge will persist for a while.

He said: “Delays happen sometimes because airlines are trying to leave the airports at the same time, most especially in the mornings, yet there are no sufficient facilities for all of them.

“The problem is also partly blamable on weak enforcement of regulations by the NCAA.

“There are regulations for delays, the NCAA has regulations for delays but it is another thing for them to enforce it. The airlines do not get audited yearly as they should.”