Can we ever overcome delayed or cancelled flights in Nigeria?

Delayed or cancelled flights are twins of sorts associated with air transportation worldwide. It’s an experience that is never pleasant to both passengers and operators alike.

It is not peculiar to Nigeria, as no nation is immune from this menace that has long bedevilled global air navigation.

This is not an attempt to excuse the notoriety level it has attained in this part of the world. Instead, it is an effort to dissect it and possibly postulate on how to rise above this menace and make air transportation a pleasant experience in Nigeria.

It is important to point out that there is no option comparable to air transportation when it comes to travelling across the Atlantic or between continents. A journey across the Atlantic cannot be done by road, nor can it be done on a horse or camel. Talking of safety, fastness and comfort, no other mode of transport is comparable to flying. Yes, it may be more expensive than the others.

Air transportation has been the worst hit in Nigeria, with a history of incessant delays and flight cancellations. It’s gradually drifting into a level of uncertainty when planning one’s trips or journeys within the country. What are the likely causes one may want to ask?

Several reasons could warrant flight delays or cancellations globally and in Nigeria, to which an operator may not be liable. For example, in the event of unfavourable weather conditions, knowing full well that the aircraft is built to operate in a stable atmosphere. The operator is exonerated from blame.

Another tenable reason for this twin enemy of smooth flight operations is when a particular aircraft scheduled for a flight develops a snag or technical problems that require fixing or taking time to be fixed. The operator is meant to fix it before further flight in the interest of safety.

Aviation fuel, Jet A1, is reputed to be one of the high-cost components of aircraft or flight operations, apart from insurance and maintenance. Sourcing for fuel sometimes is becoming taxing or problematic in view of the global liquidity squeeze or the downturn of the economy.

The current hostility between the United States and Iran on one hand and Israel and Iran and its allies on the other has not helped. The impact is being felt globally, whether negatively in terms of rising fuel costs or positively, revenue-wise, for oil nations.

It does not matter where one is located; these are tenable reasons for flight delays or cancellations globally. However, measures are in place to alleviate or remedy the discomfort of the prospective passengers effortlessly. In our clime, here lies the difference.

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All hope is not lost. In Nigeria, for instance, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority promulgated the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations [NCARs 2015], which came into operation in December 2015, tagged Part 19 – Consumer Protection Regulations. It deals with passengers’ rights and responsibilities and airlines’ obligations to passengers. This part addresses consumer protection issues, including compensation for denied boarding, delays and cancellation of flights.

In these regulations, there are separate provisions for delays under Part 19.6, while delays associated with domestic flights are captured under Part 19.6.1.

Similarly, delays relating to international flights are captured under Part 19.6.2. The rights of passengers who suffered delays on such international flights are clearly spelt out therein.

In addition, the responsibilities of airlines to passengers are contained therein.

In the same vein, cancellations are provided for in the NCAR’s Part 19.7, while the right to Compensation is provided for in Part 19.8

However, there are limitations spelt out in these regulations in detail, as contained in this ancillary enactment that both parties should be aware of, and ignorance is said not to be tenable in the law.

The compliance with these regulations and the enforcement of compliance are subjects for another day’s discourse.

One thing is certain: for as long as weather remains a natural occurrence beyond man’s control, there will be weather-related delays. The same goes for unforeseen technical problems or scarcity of aviation fuel occasioned by the global crisis.

When this happens, it is hoped that the regulatory authority will adjudicate on such a matter in an unbiased manner to the satisfaction of all parties.

Adurogboye is a former General Manager, Public Affairs of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority