FAAN, NCAA Disposition Towards Airlines

Chinedu Eze

Acute observer of the Nigerian aviation industry will notice how aviation agencies, especially the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) indulge foreign airlines over the years.
Until the appointment of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo and the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, the best avio bridges and counters were always kept for foreign airlines while Nigerian carriers operating international services were directed to park their aircraft remotely at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
There was a time FAAN officials were challenged about that discretion and their excuse then was that the agency generated most of its revenue from foreign carriers. But that dovetails with a behaviour that is often criticised about Nigerians government and its officials. They tend to indulge foreigners too much, especially those from the West.
Recently, a Russian content creator (Farida Mirzebalaeva (@farielysian) observed that Nigerians tend to be hard on their own but too soft to foreigners and noted that it is not bad to be good to foreigners but you have to be better to your own people. When the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) come hard on airlines about consumer protection, they officials seem to direct their angst to domestic airlines but they tend to soft pedal when major foreign carriers like British Airways, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Delta Air Lines and others renege on such matters.
An example will suffice. Last year, British Airways aborted flight to London from Lagos because the operating aircraft suffered damaged engine. The passengers after hours of delay were eventually taken to a hotel. While the passengers were in a hotel for the next two days, the airline operated its subsequent flights as scheduled. Eventually, the airline had to “share” those passengers to other international airlines that took them to London. But in Nigeria, if an airline cancels flight, the following day those passengers in the flight must insist the airline airlift them first; if not, they would cause chaos at the airport. But in this incident involving British Airways, the passengers complied and NCAA kept mum.
Also, last year Qatar Airways dumped some Nigerian passengers, destined to Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, at Lagos airport without proper arrangement to take them to their final destination. They petitioned NCAA and the Ministry of Aviation but their petition was not even acknowledged. The passengers, who were 12 in number, narrated how they boarded Qatar Airways flight from London to Port Harcourt en-route Doha on July 13, 2024, but on arrival to Nigeria, they were routed to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, instead of Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa and after about 9 hours delay and complaints, a scrappy arrangement was done for them to fly to Port Harcourt on domestic flight.
However, it must be acknowledged that since the present management at NCAA took over the agency has been more responsive. One could recall the Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, that was mistreated by Kenya Airways, which later apologised to the agency. The airline failed to take Omisore to her final destination but later was directed by NCAA to do so and it later apologised to the management of the agency.

Recently, NCAA had warned international airlines operating in Nigeria about the poor treatment of Nigerian customers, particularly those they denied boarding and those they deported. The warning followed complaints about airlines selling tickets to passengers, airlifting them halfway to their destinations and deporting them to Nigeria.
The Director of Consumer Protection and Public Affairs, Michael Achimugu, in a statement said any airline found to be engaged in such practices would be subjected to regulatory action, including but not limited to fines, suspension of flight operations, or other measures deemed appropriate, emphasising that the directive was with immediate effect. But what is worthy of note is that this issue has lingered for a long time before the recent intervention by the regulatory authority.
“The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has received several complaints about airlines selling tickets to passengers, only to airlift them halfway to their destinations and deport them back to Nigeria. These actions which involve the refusal of boarding/entry at intermediate/transit stops to some Nigerians due to visa/travel restrictions are causing significant distress to passengers and tarnishing the reputation of the aviation industry in Nigeria. Airlines must take appropriate measures to screen and provide passengers with accurate, up-to-date information regarding their travel documents and visa requirements before issuing a ticket and proceeding to board them,” Achimugu said.
Achimugu also said, “Effective immediately, any airline found to be engaged in such practices will be subject to regulatory action, including but not limited to fines, suspension of flight operations, or other measures deemed appropriate.”
Industry observers while commending NCAA for the action it had taken, however, described it as a belated effort because findings showed that some of the foreign airlines have been doing this for years. They emphasised “timely intervention in such critical issues.
The international airlines have recently been criticised for selling tickets from their city offices across the country, which is said to negate the NCAA regulations but their activity that severely been criticised by travel agents is the insistent of some foreign airlines to sell tickets in foreign currency despite the stabilization of the exchange rate and the fact that Nigeria has zero record of airlines’ trapped funds.
The selling of tickets from city offices is taking the market from travel agencies who ought to be doing that because that is their core duty in the downstream sub-sector of the airline industry.
The practice, which contravenes Part 18.6.1.1(c) of the NCAA Regulations, has been described as disturbing by aviation stakeholders who spoke about weak enforcement and regulatory oversight within the sector.

The regulation states, “Foreign airlines operating into and out of Nigeria for the purpose of scheduled international air services shall not have sales offices or outlets in cities other than the point(s) of entry specified in the subsisting bilateral air services agreement under which the foreign carrier is designated, and this shall be limited to the aerodromes.”
Few months ago, the President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mr. Yinka Folami, frowned at the actions of some foreign airlines that sell dollar-only tickets in the country, saying that it infringes on global practices, describing it as an exercise that is direct affront on Nigeria’s sovereignty.
Folami also described cross-border trading as the ‘greatest infidelity and a sin’ against the local market operators and this happens when a foreign registered travel agent sells tickets emanating from Nigeria and funds emanating from the transaction are domiciled in another country, or when local travel agencies in Nigeria connive with foreign agents to engage in the unlawful act.
He explained that sale of dollar only tickets does not only exclude over 70 per cent of licensed Nigerian agents but it also undermines the Naira, pointing out that with improvements in market liquidity, the resolution of remittance issues, FX stabilisation, and enhanced transparency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the rationale for USD-only ticketing is no longer valid.
He therefore urged the concerned international airlines to accommodate the naira and engage in standard practices, as it is done in other countries.
NCAA should be subjecting international airlines to the same scrutiny as they do domestic airlines and a country’s airlines, naturally, are given priority over their foreign counterparts in other countries. Doing that in Nigeria the pride the Nigeria has for its own businesses.