NCAA: When delayed, cancelled flights are celebrated, By Femi Johnson

One of the underlined issues is the understanding of the DG that passengers whose flights were cancelled or delayed should be ignored. No Nigerian passenger in the past one year can confirm being compensated for a delayed or cancelled flight. We have had cases of passengers sleeping in the airport for days over flight delays. NCAA cannot point to a single passenger who has benefited in terms of compensation, either from an airline or the regulatory body.

Industry watchers, experts and passengers received the shocker recently when the Acting Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr Chris Najomo disclosed how he shared government money to staff in order to improve their welfare, boasting that the money shared belongs to nobody but the Federal Government, hence he fears no evil. This was revealed in a viral video.

He went further to hail the minister whom he said God was using to do a lot for NCAA.

In another shocking comment, the NCAA acting boss also announced that over 5,225 flights were delayed, and 190 were cancelled in 2024. No details on sanctions or punishments for erring airlines.

In a BusinessDay report, he said, “Adequate compensation is provided where applicable. Non-compliance with these regulations will not be tolerated, and going forward, the NCAA will not hesitate to impose the necessary penalties where violations are observed. I have instructed my team to monitor and enforce compliance and apply sanctions.”

Apprehension Over Future of Aviation

Currently, there are concerns by major industry players and passengers over the future of aviation sector going by the handling of its regulations.

First, the Acting DG has become chronically patronising in his effort to continually gain the support of the staff at the detriment of aviation safety. His claims that monies are being shared to staff who constantly get bank alerts because they belong to the Federal Government is an aberration and speaks volume about administrative insensitivity. It’s not entirely wrong to prioritise staff welfare in line with civil service rules, but it amounts to recklessness when you prioritise this at the expense of aviation safety.

Unfortunately, throughout his speech where he constantly hammered on his intention to continue in office, he did not mention any airline that was sanctioned over delayed or cancelled flights. The Acting DG showed no mercy to stranded passengers whose flights were either delayed or cancelled when he said going forward, erring airlines would be sanctioned. So what happened in the past one year? How many airlines were sanctioned or queried in the period under review? This is a complete lack of incompetence and the sad reality of the regulatory agency.

It’s unfortunately disturbing to tag incompetence as a success story and should we continue on this trajectory, the aviation sector will face grave setback. What then is the job of the regulator when 190 flights were cancelled in a single year and 5,225 were delayed yet no question was asked? This unfortunate collaboration between the airlines and the regulator portends serious danger and must be stopped now.

It’s unfortunately becoming clearer that instead of engaging in the job of regulation, the atmosphere in the NCAA is that of joke, merriment, speech making, campaign and sharing of money to staff to gain support for continuation and confirmation of the Acting DG. What difference does it make if staff smile, eat fat and make merry but passengers lament delayed and cancelled flights? It shows a near absence of regulations.

One of the underlined issues is the understanding of the DG that passengers whose flights were cancelled or delayed should be ignored. No Nigerian passenger in the past one year can confirm being compensated for a delayed or cancelled flight. We have had cases of passengers sleeping in the airport for days over flight delays. NCAA cannot point to a single passenger who has benefited in terms of compensation, either from an airline or the regulatory body. This is not only sad, but capable of bringing to disrepute the renewed confidence in Nigerian aviation.

When staff get compensated for allowing airlines to operate without regulation, when the attention is shifted from regulation to celebration, when the regulator becomes the collaborator, then danger looms.

Findings have revealed that while more than 5,000 flights were canceled in September and October alone, yet the NCAA staff and airline owners have continued to write to the President to confirm the DG’s appointment from an acting position. This looks more like an irony in which incompetence is being rewarded.

Many believe that the alleged insistence of the Minister to confirm the DG for a five-year tenure is tearing the industry apart. It is equally unfortunate that the erstwhile DG, Captain Musa Nuhu has not been subjected to any serious investigation for a year now.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) report indicting NCAA indicated that the fatal helicopter crash, which resulted in the deaths of eight individuals, including six NNPC employees was due to the NCAA permission allowing the helicopter to operate without a valid flight data recorder (FDR), autopilot, life raft, and other essential equipment.

It is also not news that the recent Bell Police helicopter crash was as a result of the NCAA’s inadequate supervision and the permissibility that enables unqualified pilots to fly aircraft.

Sadly, the recent multiple aviation incidents, including two aircraft engine failures and a cargo aircraft overshooting the runway within a span of five days call for serious concern.

These alarming developments should ordinarily reawaken the Minister of Aviation in order to take action against Captain Chris Najomo, who some claim is an uncle of his and that they hail from the same village. If this is true, it is worth emphasising that safety in the aviation industry is far more important than relationships or kindred ties.

This current disregard for safety concerns has raised international scrutiny on Nigeria’s management of its airspace. The country has lost its FAA Category One Certificate, prohibiting Nigerian airlines, including Air Peace, from operating passenger flights to the United States. The concerns of many is actually the Minister’s seeming inaction or reluctance to intervene and prioritise the safety of citizens.

The current leadership incompetence in NCAA has continued to re-echo and must be addressed now before it’s too late, else we will return to the era of Sosoliso and those dark years in the sector.

Politicising NCAA at the expense of professionalism will take us 100 steps backwards.

Femi Johnson, an aviator writes from Canada.