NCAA threatens to suspend Royal Air Maroc over passenger rights violations

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has threatened to suspend the operations of Royal Air Maroc (RAM) in Nigeria over what it described as persistent consumer protection violations and poor treatment of Nigerian passengers.

The warning was issued on Thursday by the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, who accused the Moroccan airline of repeatedly breaching passengers’ rights despite previous sanctions imposed by the regulator.

According to Achimugu, Royal Air Maroc has consistently failed to improve its handling of Nigerian passengers, particularly in cases involving delayed baggage, inadequate passenger care and poor complaint resolution.

“The airline, Royal Air Maroc, has for the longest time, been the biggest culprit when it comes to baggage infractions, poor passenger handling, and extremely poor resolution processes when dealing with Nigerian passengers,” he said.

Achimugu also accused the airline of repeatedly ignoring invitations to attend regulatory meetings organised by the NCAA.

He alleged that the airline’s Country Manager, Ahmed Boussouf, had consistently refused to honour invitations to meetings in Abuja, opting instead to send a representative without the authority to resolve complaints or make commitments on behalf of the airline.

“Royal Air Maroc’s country manager, Ahmed Boussouf, will sit in Lagos and refuse to attend meetings in Abuja. Instead, the airline will hastily send an email on the eve of the meeting that the cases are being processed, and thereafter, send one Theophilus (their Abuja rep), without authority to resolve cases or make commitments,” Achimugu said.

The NCAA official further claimed that during one of the latest engagements, Boussouf dismissed the regulator’s concerns.

“Today, one of those events occurred. In registering our displeasure over this incessant disregard for Nigerian passengers and the Authority, this country manager, Boussouf, said to me, ‘Whatever you want to do, do.’”