The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has directed Air Peace to come up with a compensation package for passengers affected by a delayed Lagos-Enugu flight on Monday, after its preliminary investigation found that the airline sent them the wrong notification.
A human rights activist and lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, had accused Air Peace of irresponsibility and impunity after his Lagos-Enugu flight was delayed till the evening.
Effiong said in a post on X on Monday that the delay would cause him to miss a scheduled court appearance in Enugu State.
The NCAA, through its Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, however, said it would look into the disruption, while rejecting his claim that the regulator is incapable of tackling the airline.
Effiong explained that he arrived at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, at about 5:50am to join the airline’s 6:45am flight, having checked in the previous night.
“I am scheduled to appear in court in Enugu State this morning for a case that is slated for definite hearing,” he said.
The lawyer said he became suspicious when the airline called only passengers who were meant to fly to Enugu and Owerri on Sunday, while those scheduled to depart on Monday were asked to wait.
“Apparently, they cancelled yesterday’s flight to Enugu,” he said.
He said the passengers were kept waiting for about an hour before airline staff announced that the flight had been delayed till 4:50pm.
Effiong also claimed that Air Peace sent a second reminder to passengers at 2:01am on Monday, despite knowing that the flight was not going to depart as scheduled.
He said he met two other lawyers billed to travel on the same flight, one of whom also had a hearing in Enugu that morning. He added that the two other airlines that fly the route, United Nigeria and Enugu Air, had only afternoon flights.
“I lost sound sleep, wasted my resources on flights and taxis (by the way, I already booked my return flight with United Nigeria slated for 3:20 PM today), and I am going to miss a sensitive court appearance,” he said.
Effiong accused Air Peace’s of taking passengers “for granted endlessly” on account of the airline’s large fleet and its occasional role in repatriating stranded Nigerians.
