CPC Cautions Airlines Over Maltreatment Of Passengers

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Worried over the plight of passengers in the hand of airline operators, the Consumer  Protection Council (CPC) has warned that it will not hesitate to take disciplinary  action against any airline that continues to maltreat its passengers.

In  a letter recently addressed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the  Director General of the council, Mrs. Ify Umenyi noted that in the last one month,  her office has received numerous petitions from airline passengers who had been  maltreated in one way or the other by airlines operating in the country.

She urged the regulatory agency to curtail the continued suffering of Nigerian  passengers by prevailing on operators in the industry to, amongst other things,  overhaul their general operation and information disseminaton.  Mrs. Umenyi said  that it is worrisome that airlines  abuse the rights of their passengers with  impunity.

“The most worrisome of all is the fact that in as much as it has become a norm for  consumers to furnish airline ticketing officers with their  telephone contacts while  purchasing their tickets, such contact numbers are scarcely used to advice consumers  on the status of their flight before getting to the airport. This happens even when  it may have been known to the operator before hand that a flight will not be  operated as scheduled”

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While conceding to the fact that different factors like bad weather, technical  hitches and operational challenges in the form of disruption in fuel supply could  occasion delays and cancellation of flights under shot notice, she noted that it is  against international norms and  global best practices for consumers to be denied  any form of compensation.

She warned that  though airlines may have been getting away with all these in the  past due to the lack of existing passenger right laws in Nigeria, the council may   soon employ actions that may result in untoward consequences for the airlines if the  trend continues.

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