The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued a final one-week deadline to defaulting airlines to pay outstanding sanction fines, following revisions to earlier penalties.
NCAA’s Director of Consumer Protection and Public Affairs, Michael Achimugu, revealed that while some airlines had engaged with the agency and paid reduced fines, others remained unresponsive.
“We will be asking the other airlines that have received the reviewed figures, and some did not even ask for a review, actually,” Achimugu said. “We are giving it to you next week before we ask questions.”
He emphasized that the goal of the sanctions was not to cripple airlines financially but to improve service delivery.
“The aim of this is not just to punish; it’s to make them improve the quality of their services… we don’t look to just drain them financially and run them out of business,” he explained.
Achimugu also disclosed that some cases were dropped entirely after it was discovered that the airlines had already resolved the issues without notifying the NCAA.
“The ones that they had actually resolved, but we were not aware because they did not update us, we are removing those sums from the sanction fee,” he said.
Highlighting the flexibility of the revised fines, he cited an example: “We were supposed to pay N11m, but we were able to cut it down to N4m. Then we further cut to N2.5m, which is what they have paid.”
Arik Air is reportedly one of the carriers moving toward compliance. “Arik has been here; we have given them a revised figure; we have written to them; they are looking to pay us because they have asked for our account details already,” Achimugu confirmed.
The NCAA began enforcement last month after warning airlines about violations of passenger refund timelines as stipulated in its 2023 regulations.
Airlines affected by enforcement actions include Royal Air Maroc, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Peace, Arik Air, and Aero Contractors.
The NCAA stated it is prioritizing a collaborative approach over strict enforcement to support the financial viability of the aviation industry while ensuring compliance.
