The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has raised concerns over the high cost of air travel in the country, stating that Nigerians pay the highest airfares in Africa yet receive poor treatment from airlines.
Michael Achimugu, the director of public affairs and consumer protection at the NCAA, highlighted this issue during a meeting with RwandAir’s management team.
The meeting was called to address numerous complaints from Nigerian passengers about prolonged or delayed refunds by the airline.
Achimugu emphasized that Nigerians pay significantly more for air travel compared to other African nations, yet the service they receive often falls short.
He criticized the unprofessional behaviour of some airline staff, describing their approach as discourteous and lacking in proper customer relations.
“Nigerians are paying a humongous amount of money for travel compared to all other African countries, so they deserve better. We are not unaware of the discourtesy of some of your staff, but it is funny because it is customer relations,” he said.
The NCAA official also pointed out the poor etiquette displayed by airline staff, citing a recent video as evidence of unprofessional conduct. “The etiquette by which some of your staff members relate is horrible. Even the way your staff was speaking in the video is disjointed and not professional, but we will get to that later because we spent a better part of last year advising airlines on professionalism in their customer relations,” Achimugu added.
He stressed that passenger handling must improve, especially given the high fees Nigerians are charged for air travel.
Achimugu reminded the airline that passengers are the backbone of the aviation industry. “Our job, God knows, is not to regulate you out of business, but passengers are kings in the industry; if they don’t exist, then you and I won’t exist in this industry,” he stated.
He warned against the assumption that passengers have no choice but to return to the same airlines, noting that even major carriers have gone out of business due to poor service. “I know that the thinking for many airlines is that passengers don’t have too many choices – even if they complain, they will still come back to fly because they need to fly. But the truth is we have seen many great airlines go extinct; maybe they had thought it was not possible. Never think it is not possible,” he concluded.
