Air transport is the fastest means of travelling globally. But for many Nigerian air travellers, and on some unlucky days, flying on domestic ‘scheduled’ carriers is a real nightmare, JOKE FALAJU reports.
Schedule reliability in air transport implies the ability of an airline to operate flights according to its scheduled departure and arrival times.
It’s a crucial metric that impacts passenger experience, airline efficiency, overall operational performance, and determines airlines’ integrity before customers.
In Nigeria, that golden rule of modern commercial aviation subsists, though more in breach in lieu of multiple delays and near-routine flight cancellations.
Numbers from last year’s experience are just as harrowing, suggestive of an industry in chaos.
An executive summary on international and domestic flight operations for 2024, released by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), domestic airlines, with 15 operators, recorded 33,235 delayed flights, while international airlines, with 30 operators, had 4,426 delays.
While international airlines recorded 131 cancelled flights (out of 14,359 flights recorded in the international segment), domestic airlines had 1,189 cancellations out of 70,543 flights operated.
Customer experience at its…
More than just numbers, behind those figures are the pains and sufferings of customers who had booked those flights.
An X user, Ugegbe, on his handle @MarinatedTurks, recently complained about how Arik Air made him lose a N2 million business deal. According to Ugegbe, a flight scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Port Harcourt to Lagos was cancelled at 11 p.m. without prior notice or apology, and they were simply told to return by 12:30 p.m. He said: “By the time we returned to the airport, we were told that tickets were sold out.”
Another user, @Symply_Tacha, also lamented: “If you’re a frequent flyer in Nigeria, you would know that once you miss the first or second flight of the day, getting to your destination that same day would literally be by God’s grace. The airlines will frustrate you.”
She continued: “I have waited over eight hours at the airport for my flight from Lagos. In the end, I demanded a refund and left. I was travelling for my mother’s funeral—so you can imagine! Did they provide a reason for the delay? No. They kept telling us to be patient.”
Chikadibia @Cijenan shared how he avoided booking an Air Peace flight from Uyo due to fear of delays, only for Ibom Air to also cancel its flight due to low passenger numbers. He had to take a loan to travel back to Abuja.
Interestingly, international airlines have not been exempted from this trend as Dixon Bond Okello @OkelloDixon recently reported how Uganda Airlines kept passengers to Burundi waiting for 24 hours. Similarly, passengers travelling to Nairobi were left stranded from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. without an apology. Delta Airlines was also reported to have delayed a flight “until further notice” due to a global system outage.
Recently, the foregoing lousy ‘customer experiences’ were at the centre of the row between the NCAA and Air Peace, over what the authority described as “chronic passenger complaints” regarding delays and cancellations.
Narrating the incident that led to NCAA’s summon of Air Peace, a passenger, Lucky Obelowo, had said: “I had a 7 p.m. flight from Lagos to Abuja on Thursday. It was moved to 10 p.m.—we didn’t complain. At 9:58 p.m., they gave us a solo Coke and one biscuit. I told my wife they were about to reschedule again. Sure enough, the flight was moved to 11:59 p.m. We still didn’t complain. At 11:58 p.m., a staff member apologised and said the aircraft was delayed in Lagos due to bad weather and unscheduled maintenance. We eventually took off at 1 a.m. with the aircraft half-empty.”
Safety first
From all indications, flight delays and cancellations have become commonplace in the Nigerian aviation industry. While passengers are calling on the NCAA to impose severe penalties, operators have defended their actions.
Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema, in a recent response to the NCAA, said the airline has no regrets about cancelling or delaying flights in its bid to ensure passenger safety in line with air safety standards.
“Safety is and will always remain our cardinal priority. These delays and cancellations are dictated by safety considerations,” he insisted.
Similarly, the founder of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, rationalised that there are 95 possible causes for flight delays, only a few of which could be attributed to airline operators.
He listed causes such as faulty aircraft, weather, lack of infrastructure, VIP movements, outdated landing equipment, unruly passengers, NCAA ramp checks, and limited parking space at Lagos airport.
Okonkwo noted that the inability of many local airports to operate 24 hours a day contributes to flight cancellations, with many aircraft underutilised.
He said: “Aircraft are manufactured to fly. Ideally, they should fly for 18 hours a day. But here in Nigeria, we only fly for about eight hours because most airports open at 6:30 a.m. and close by 6:30 p.m. That makes it difficult to maintain a full flight cycle. Any delay often leads to cancellations, especially when flying to sunset airports,” he explained.
While Okonkwo is partly correct on the sunset airports, the same facilities are available for extended operations at nightfall, if airlines are willing to pay extra fees.
More than the sunset constraints, stakeholders have hammered on airlines’ serial lack the capacity to meet growing passenger demand, which stood at about 15.6 million in 2024.
NCAA Director-General, Capt. Chris Najomo, therefore, urged the airline to trim operations to match its active fleet to reduce delays and cancellations.
He affirmed that while the NCAA would continue to support airlines, they must adhere to regulations and global best practices.
Part 19 of the NCAA Act 2023 outlines the rights and responsibilities of passengers, as well as airline obligations. Section 6 mandates that when a flight is expected to be delayed beyond its scheduled time, the airline must inform passengers within 30 minutes. After two hours, refreshments and free communication must be provided. Beyond three hours, passengers are entitled to a refund or rerouting. Between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., or if the airport is closed, hotel accommodation must be provided. If a flight is cancelled, the airline must refund fares within 14 days or be fined N5 million per passenger for delays in processing refunds.
Accountability is key
The Director-General of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Zahrah Audu, recently said it was important to hold the operators to high standards as the problem of delays and cancellations of flights should be a thing of the past.
She noted that with the launch of the new era of insurance for the aviation industry, the airline operators should be able to get more aircraft, while the airlines are made to bite only what they can chew in terms of route advertisements.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in his response, noted that the policy of the current administration was to create an enabling environment for private operators to improve services.
He said that the government was also concerned about the delays and cancellations, which he blamed on the capacity of operators.
Keyamo said airlines are “not sadists; they have a capacity problem and so the government must look into it, solve it, and hold them accountable. That is the approach of this government.”
Secretary of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Olumide Ohunayo, called for the sustained enforcement of extant regulations.
Ohunayo stressed the need for transparency, criticising past regulatory failures, often blamed on alleged collusion between regulators and operators.
He acknowledged that under the current administration, the NCAA has enhanced its Consumer Protection Department by digitising complaint processes. Passengers can now report issues online, enabling quicker resolution.
He cited a personal experience in which he received a ticket refund within two weeks, reflecting increased airline accountability. Ohunayo encouraged airlines facing operational constraints to lease aircraft or partner with other operators.
“Regulatory pressure and media scrutiny will further force many airlines to adjust their schedule or lease more planes,” Ohunayo said.
The Acting Managing Director of Umza Airline, Captain Maigida Nuhu, attributed the major reasons for flight delays to weather, technical issues, bird strikes and some other logistics challenges.
Nuhu, however, stressed the need for more sensitisation of passengers on issues that could cause flight delays.
He said: “When there are delays, citizens need to be enlightened; they should listen to the reason for the delay. No airline will come to do business and then cancel flights. It’s not a pleasurable moment to cancel flights or delay them. Everyone is coming to do business and offer services. We will be happy if everyone gets to their destination safely. Safety is our watchword.”
Addressing the issue of inadequate aircraft, he said, “Airlines are private businesses; we do not get anything free from anyone. So, when there is an inadequacy of equipment, that is the best we can do. Nobody is giving us aircraft for free. Don’t forget that everything we get here is from outside this country; nothing is made here.
“The business environment is not quite convenient, and we don’t get services on a platter of gold. We are all doing our best to improve our services. The country some 20 years ago is not the same as today, with population growth, an increase in facilities, yet we are trying to step up to meet the challenges of time,” Nuhu said.
Also reacting to the menace, the Chief Executive Officer of the Robert Flight Information Region, Emil Rogers, attributed flight delays to improper planning, a lack of adequate transport system and poor connectivity.
He suggested the urgent need for the implementation of the Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM), saying that if there are more flights using the open market system, airlines would have more options and routes.
