NCAA Launches ‘Maximum Enforcement’ Action Against Kenya Airways.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) claims it has taken maximum enforcement action against Kenya Airways for many consumer protection violations.
Among the breaches is the airline’s failure to issue an official apology, refund, and compensation to a Nigerian traveller, Gloria Omisore, within 48 hours.
According to the NCAA, the airline requested a one-hour extension after 48 hours but failed to comply with the agency’s decision.
In a post on X on Saturday, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, also stated that on Thursday, Kenya Airways failed to submit a compliance report regarding a scheduled flight that was delayed for seven hours with no compensation for passengers.
Achimugu further revealed that when the airline was addressed over the phone, its team claimed ignorance of NCAA regulations. He pondered how a corporation would operate in a foreign country with no recourse to the applicable legislation.
“To this end, we are organising a retreat for all airlines operating in Nigeria to learn and relearn Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.”
Achimugu added, “The country manager in Nigeria apologised for the Gloria Omisore incident.
The airline concedes that it should not have boarded the passenger from Lagos.The airline overlooked the passenger’s absence of a France transit visa, resulting in a 17-hour delay in Nairobi, followed by a 10-hour wait for a flight to the UK.The passenger then requests care for the 10-hour period since she is bleeding and needs to bathe.
The airline staff’s actions in response to her request were the result of poor passenger handling. Gloria Omisore was not a disruptive passenger on the first leg of the flight, and she was not impolite on the Lagos-Nairobi route.
“We put the facts of the matter to the airline and rejected the misleading official statement put out by them.”The decision was made for the airline to alter its initial statement to reflect the facts of the situation. There has been no compliance.
The initial statement that clouded facts has been permitted to fly, despite its royal misleadingness.The NCAA provided the airline with an opportunity to correct its errors.
The airline has failed to do so. Earlier yesterday, the airline requested a one-hour extension, but they still failed to comply with the CAA’s judgement.
He went on to say, “The NCAA is, therefore, initiating stiff enforcement action against Kenya Airways.” This action will follow due process. I’ve placed our legal department on notice.”
The NCAA granted Kenya Airways 48 hours on Tuesday to apologise for the mistreatment of Omisore, who was scheduled to fly from Nigeria to Manchester via Nairobi, Paris, and Manchester, the same path she had taken to enter the nation.
A Kenyan Airways employee had an argument with a Nigerian passenger, which received widespread attention and outrage.
Tunde Moshood, the special adviser to the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, tweeted the video on Monday, in which Omisore expressed her dissatisfaction with the airline personnel’s maltreatment of her and other Nigerian passengers.