Airlines to start paying passengers for delayed, cancelled flights starting next year — FG

The Federal Government of Nigeria says airlines will begin compensating customers for cancelled and delayed flights beginning in January 2024.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced this on Tuesday.

Keyamo who appeared before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Aviation, Keyamo while defending the 2024 budget for his ministry, noted that as part of the compensation programme, an extensive list of airlines accountable for cancelled or delayed flights would be released on a regular basis in the media.

In reference to how Nigerians are treated, he declared, “I have called the customer satisfaction commission. I have returned to the committee. That is how concerned I am.

“And I have said that in the last address that I gave during our stakeholders meeting in Lagos and our retreat in Warri.

“I said on a weekly basis, please publish the list of airlines that do not fly as and when due, cancelled flights, delayed flights, how many hours it was delayed, was there compensation, and actions they took as regulators against these airlines.

“We are starting that in January.”

Keyamo said one way to achieve this was to deduct the money from the payment for flight tickets of airlines responsible for such delays and cancellations.

“For every delay, there is a report, an actual report by the regulator.

“What did they do?

“Did they pay compensation?

“And if they didn’t pay compensation, we have said that the other way to get compensation if they can’t return cash is that once the passenger buys the next ticket, it must be given a rebate.”

The minister said that passengers must be given a 50 percent rebate or 40 percent rebate because there must be a rebate.