NCAA – Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has pledged to implement stringent measures against airlines responsible for delaying travelers’ luggage.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, Michael Achimugu, revealed this during a roadshow held by NCAA at the Lagos airport on Monday, November 18.
Achimugu stated that the agency plans to levy fines of $170 on international airlines and N10,000 on local carriers as an initial step to combat such incidents.
For far too long, Nigerians have expressed ignorance regarding the existence and responsibilities of the NCAA. Our obligation, which is to serve the Nigerian public, is to enhance awareness within the industry. It is crucial for passengers to be well-informed about their rights to prevent airlines from taking advantage of them.
There are minor facets of the regulations that passengers ought to be aware of; for example, if you arrive at an airport and your luggage is missing, many passengers are unaware that they have the right to request compensation from the airlines.
For domestic flights, you can approach the airline’s desk to claim your N10,000 for the missing bag. For international flights, the amount is $170. A significant number of passengers are unaware of this, but today signifies the end of that cycle of unawareness. We are presenting the regulations to Nigerians in an engaging way.
Achimugu noted that the BCAA website is readily available for dissatisfied passengers to file complaints against non-compliant airlines.
Air France reportedly has the highest instances of lost luggage with 2,075 cases among foreign carriers arriving in Nigeria, followed by KLM at 1,938; Egypt Air at 1,850; Royal Air Maroc at 1,745; British Airways at 1,428; Lufthansa at 1,535; Kenya Airways at 1,346; and Delta Airlines at 1,101.
Additional airlines include Qatar Airways with 980 cases; Ethiopian Airlines with 545; Air Cote d’Ivoire with 424; Rwandair with 365; Asky with 290; South African Airways with 77; Air Peace with 49; Africa World Airlines with 35; Taag Angola with 31; and the Middle East with merely five cases of missing luggage.
The summary from NCAA also revealed that at least 19,274 pieces of passengers’ luggage, across all airlines—both foreign and domestic—were reported as delayed or missing in the first half of 2024.