Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has clarified that its statement on flight delays and cancellation statistics was not intended to embarrass or indict domestic airlines operating in the country.

The Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, Michael Achimugu, in an interview with The Guardian yesterday, explained that the data was released to provide a clearer picture of flight operations and disruptions within the domestic aviation sector.

Achimugu, who spoke on the controversy generated by the report, said the regulatory agency recognised that not all flight delays and cancellations were caused by the airlines.

He also insisted that the NCAA had, in the past, sanctioned both domestic and foreign airlines for flight delays and cancellations, but declared that the industry regulator could only sanction an airline where an investigation established that the carrier was responsible for delays or cancellations.

Achimugu also clarified the controversy surrounding the number of flight operations contained in the report, following concerns raised by some airlines over the figures.

He said the more than 1,800 flight operations of Air Peace referenced in the data, for instance, represented domestic operations only and did not include regional and international flights operated by the airline.

He insisted the NCAA stood by the figures contained in its report.

Data released by the NCAA last week had indicated that domestic airlines delayed about 60 per cent of their scheduled flights in August 2026

MEANWHILE, the Federal Government has been called upon to lead the establishment of a centralised data system for the collection and reconciliation of important data and other financial crises in the country’s aviation industry.

Speaking with aviation journalists in Lagos over the weekend, the Group Managing Director, Finchglow Holdings, Bankole Bernard, said that this would go a long way in resolving the disputes between airlines and aviation agencies, especially the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

According to Bernard, continued reliance on fragmented records by airlines, regulators and other stakeholders had made the administration of the levy unnecessarily contentious, with parties often presenting conflicting figures on ticket sales, collections and remittances.

Bernard, who was also one-time President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), said it was necessary for the aviation industry in the country to exploit available technology to create a single, verifiable source of data accessible to all authorised stakeholders.

He posited that the International Air Transport Association (IATA), for instance, had existing financial settlement systems through its clearing-house arrangements, saying that this was evidence that technology could be deployed to handle complex financial transactions.

Also, he disclosed plans by the company to establish a private flying school at the Gateway International Agro-Cargo Airport, Ogun State, subject to regulatory and airport approvals.

Bernard explained the company would not necessarily compete by offering the lowest fees, insisting that training quality and compliance with required standards would be central to the institution’s strategy.