We’ll name, shame, enforce compensation for flight delays, cancellations

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has declared intentions to enforce compensation for passengers affected by delayed or cancelled flights, starting from January 2024.

Keyamo stated that the Ministry of Aviation would initiate a weekly publication in the media, disclosing airlines with documented cases of flight delays and cancellations.

This “shame list” aims to enhance transparency and accountability, providing airlines with an incentive to prioritize passenger satisfaction and enhance their reliability.

“I have urged the Customer’s Satisfaction Commission to address the treatment of Nigerians. I reiterated in our stakeholders meeting in Lagos and our retreat in Warri that there will be a weekly publication listing airlines that fail to operate flights on time, cancel flights, or significantly delay them, along with the duration of these delays.

“For every delay, there is an official report by the regulator. What did the airline do? Did they provide compensation? That passenger must be given a 50 per cent rebate or 40 per cent rebate because there must be a rebate,” Keyamo stated on Tuesday during his budget defense before the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Aviation.

The Minister also underscored that the optimal approach for the development of Nigerian airports is through concessions to investors.

“In concession, we will give the people what we want, not what they want. We have to decide what we want. It is the nature, the quality of the concession that all of us will agree on,” he said.