By Itohan Abara-Laserian
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has met with travel agents and airline operators to address issues around flight disruptions, and refunds, among others.
The Director of Air Transport, NCAA, Mrs Olayinka Babaoye, told the stakeholders on Thursday in Lagos that the meeting became necessary because of the issues arising from passengers in the case of flight disruptions.
Babaoye said that it was paramount to strike a balance between the causes of flight disruptions and how messages were sent to passengers.
According to her, it would help the agency to get the perspectives of the airline, passengers and the travel agents.
“It is good to hear from both sides because we have called the airlines on several occasions, both foreign and domestic airlines to discuss the issue that we keep getting from passengers on disruption, on how cancellations and delays are being handled.
“And I know we worked very closely with NANTA because we were trying to make sure that passenger comes first.
But at the same time, it is also to balance between the passenger, the airline, and the country as a whole,” she said.
According to her, the agency will try to mediate and to get the right balance, as it is always good to hear from the side of NANTA to see how best to address pressing issues.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Micheal Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs/Consumer Protection, NCAA, said that the government, through the agency, was ready to dish out sanctions.
He said both local and international airlines should henceforth be cautious as the hammer could hit any operator, citing the case with the Turkish Airlines and NUATE.
Achimugu said that the NCAA’s Consumer Protection Portal would be going live soon to check airlines’ activities as it concerns refund issues among others.
NANTA’s National President, Mr Yinka Folami said that it had become pertinent to differentiate certified travel agents from the touts at the airport.
He said: “There is the absolute need to eradicate the touts at the airport. NANTA members, who are certified by the NCAA must be properly identified.
“Most of the aftermath of disruptions at the airport are constituted by these touts,” he said.
Folami called for more engagements such as the meeting for airlines, agents and other stakeholders to adjust accordingly.
He also said that there must be a proper channel for airlines to communicate with passengers when there are flight cancellations and delays.
According to Folami, airlines were always so quick to accuse travel agents who booked flights for their customers during a disruption.
He also noted that there should be a balance on the International Airport Transport Association’s (IATA) Rate of Exchange (RE) as it was killing the industry and the government needed to address the issue to strike a balance.
Some of the agents said that email notifications were not promptly sent out by airlines, stating that agents stopped inputting personal data of passengers when purchasing tickets because the airlines would begin to send promotional emails and discounted tickets.
Ms MaryAnn Onuoha of Bella Mana Travel and Tours Ltd. said that IATA had become the government in Nigeria, as they tend to change the RE too frequently.
The travel agents complained strongly about the refund policy by airlines which took passengers and agents too long or never to retrieve their funds.
They said that travel agents were heavily regulated but their protection rights have not been given much concern; stating that airlines see agents as competitors instead of partners.
The airline operators, NAHCO among other stakeholders were present at the interactive meeting.