The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed Air Peace to develop a compensation package for passengers affected by the disruption of a Lagos-Enugu flight after a preliminary investigation found that the airline sent passengers an incorrect notification.
The development followed complaints by human rights activist and lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, who said the delayed flight caused him to miss a scheduled court appearance in Enugu State.
Effiong said he arrived at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, at about 5:50am on Monday for the airline’s scheduled 6:45am Lagos-Enugu flight, having checked in the previous night.
According to him, passengers were initially kept waiting before being informed that the flight had been rescheduled to 4:50pm.
He also alleged that Air Peace sent passengers a reminder at about 2:01am asking them to report for the flight, despite the subsequent disruption.
Responding to the complaint, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the authority would investigate the incident and rejected the suggestion that the regulator was incapable of addressing airline disruptions.
Following the preliminary investigation, Achimugu said the disruption was linked to a ripple effect from disruptions experienced by the airline on Sunday night.
He said Air Peace should have notified the affected passengers that the flight had been rescheduled.
According to Achimugu, the airline’s Station Manager and Duty Manager confirmed that the notification sent to passengers was the same message received by Effiong and that it had been sent in error.
“The Station Manager and Duty Manager have confirmed that the messages sent out was the one you received, and that it was done in error,” Achimugu said.
The NCAA official said the authority had directed Air Peace, in line with Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023, to submit a compensation package for the affected passengers.
He stressed that timely and accurate communication was essential in handling flight disruptions, describing the incorrect notification as a failure in that regard.
Achimugu said the airline had indicated that affected passengers were taken to a hotel where they would receive care pending their boarding time, although the NCAA was still verifying the claim.
He added that the airline would not necessarily face sanctions if it provided the required compensation and duty of care, but warned that sanctions could follow if it failed to meet its obligations.
Meanwhile, NCAA data on domestic airline operations for August 2026 showed that 15 carriers operated 7,961 flights, with 4,765 recorded as delayed and 36 cancelled.
The authority listed Air Peace as having recorded 1,330 delays out of 1,864 flights, representing 71.4 per cent of its flights for the period.
Air Peace, however, disputed the figures, saying it operated 2,564 flights during the month and that more than 700 flights were omitted from the NCAA’s data. The airline also said internal factors accounted for about 15 per cent of its delays.
Efforts to obtain further comments from Air Peace on the Lagos-Enugu flight disruption were unsuccessful at the time of filing.
The NCAA has reiterated the importance of timely passenger communication, adequate care and compliance with consumer protection regulations whenever flight disruptions occur.
By Enitan Mudashiru | MUK TV News
