By Emmanuel Egobiambu and Ayomide Tella, Channels Television
Photos and videos of stranded passengers in airports after flight delays and cancellations have hit the internet in recent days as airlines grapple with the unavailability and hike in the price of Jet A1 fuel.
THE FEDERAL Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says passengers are entitled to food, airtime, and, in certain instances, accommodation, in cases of delayed flights.
FCCPC’s Director, Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, said this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“If your flight is delayed, you are supposed to be given refreshments. After some more hours of delay, you are supposed to be given airtime.
“From what we understand from the books and the law, you are supposed to be given airtime because you could be seen to be at least in distress. So, you will be required to be assisted to that extent,” Ijagwu said on Tuesday’s edition of the breakfast show.
The FCCPC director explained that in cases of abrupt flight cancellation, passengers could get transportation and accommodation from airlines.
“When it gets to cancelling the flight abruptly, and you had kept consumers all through that time, it’s required even outside of the law. Even if you were in other climes, you could tell that in such a situation, just like you mentioned, transport will be provided because the airport is quite far from the town or city,” he said.
“Apart from that, accommodation could be provided in certain instances. So, given the exact situation, we could just put this side by side with the exact situation as it would have occurred to be able to determine what should have been given and what has been denied.”
The FCCPC director’s comment followed continued flight delays, suspensions, and cancellations by airline operators in the country.
Photos and videos of stranded passengers in airports after flight delays and cancellations have hit the internet in recent days as airlines grapple with the unavailability and hike in the price of Jet A1 fuel.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Monday, some airlines repeatedly rescheduled flights, leaving the passengers stranded with no provision for transportation or overnight stay.
Last week, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, hinted at a possible hike in the price of airfares. He said this was to allow domestic airlines to keep operating and avert a possible shutdown of operations.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) had earlier threatened to shut down over the hike in the cost of Jet A1 fuel.
It said the cost of aviation fuel has moved from ₦900 per litre as of February 28 to ₦3,300 per litre—a rise of over 300 per cent within weeks.
In a letter addressed to the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), Clement Isong, airline operators said they have been absorbing the rising costs out of “patriotism and in the spirit of service to the nation” but admitted that the burden is no longer manageable.
“Airline revenues are insufficient to cover the cost of fuel alone,” the letter read in part.
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