“Every week, we will start publishing the list of flights that were delayed or cancelled and the reasons and action taken. We will start publishing them next week. We will name and shame erring airlines,” the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said when he featured as a guest on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
Delayed flights without explanations or compensation have been a bane in the nation’s aviation in the recent past.
The issue lingering through the tenure of past ministers was left unresolved, causing more pain to air travellers already haunted by the exorbitant prices of travel tickets.
But Keyamo speaking during the interview, said the issue was a delicate one and should handled carefully so as not to discourage potential investors.
He added the ministry is ready to enforce laws on the delay and compensation packages for customers as stipulated by international laws.
He said, “I feel the pains of Nigerians who go through the pangs of flight delays. I see a lot of messages on my phone concerning it and it is sad.
“It is difficult and you could see that all my predecessors in office could not address that issue but I am trying to get a reasonable bend on this issue. do you sanction the airlines by closing them down? That would create more chaos because we don’t have enough local airlines. how do you proceed with all of that?
“And that’s why we have to handle it delicately because what we are trying to solve should not be escalated. The most important thing is that the customers must have succour. We must take steps to alleviate that pain.
“There are flight cancellations all over the world but in other climes, they keep to the rules on how to treat customers and refunds. We have to enforce those rules and that’s what we are thinking.
“We’ve engaged a couple of insurance companies to insure passengers and their flight tickets. They will be present at every airport in the country and will swing into action whenever there is a flight delay or cancellation to ensure passengers are not stranded.
“Do not forget that it is a bit more complicated than that and to be honest, sometimes we are complicit. it is not always the fault of the airlines, weather, or bird strikes. It is the responsibility of FAAN to clear those bids because the airlines paid for parking space and utility, so we should make the atmosphere good for them. sometimes it is the lack of jet AI fuel and other times, it is the airlines’ fault.
“And I have instructed starting this year to get a weekly report on all flights delayed or cancelled and the reasons or actions taken.”
Continuing, the minister stated that there is no going back on the relocation of the headquarters of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria from Abuja to Lagos.
Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the movement of the FAAN headquarters would save the government and the people of Nigeria half a billion naira wasted on air tickets by officials of the Authority who have to commute from Lagos to Abuja and back.
Keyamo said the whole issue was compounded by the fact that FAAN is not yet digitalised and so, in one year, they spend half a billion naira on flight tickets between Lagos and Abuja alone.
“You see them flying every day to and fro Abuja to get one file signed. They fly every day back and forth. In one year, they spent close to half a billion naira on flight tickets. N450m on flight tickets alone,” he said.
