The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has summoned all domestic airlines to a meeting in Abuja over flight disruptions.

NCAA Director of Public Relations and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, announced this in a statement on Tuesday via his X handle.

Achimugu said the meeting will be held on Wednesday at the NCAA headquarters.

“The NCAA has invited all domestic airlines to a meeting in Abuja slated for tomorrow, Wednesday,” Achimugu wrote.

He stated that among the issues to be addressed are “Unruly passenger behaviour and passenger handling protocols; Unresolved refund/compensation issues; Introduction of RFID bag tags and flight monitoring technology; Enforcement of phone switch-off instruction and protection for cabin crew, as well as Improved travel experience for passengers.”

This comes barely 24 hours after Achimugu said the regulatory authority had the mandate of the Federal Government “to begin naming and shaming” airlines that delay and cancel flights, especially at odd hours, without providing the right comfort for the stranded passengers as stipulated in Part 19 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations.

In a post on X, he stated that when airlines cancel flights without taking care of the welfare of passengers, they expose the NCAA’s consumer protection officers to danger.

Achimugu explained that if an airline has kept passengers at the terminal up to 00:hrs before cancelling a flight, the airline owes the passengers hotel accommodation.

“The regulations stipulate that passengers stranded between the hours of 2200 and 0400 be given accommodation.

“The situation where airline staff intentionally disappear, leaving NCAA Consumer Protection Officers to handle justifiably irate and frustrated passengers, will no longer be tolerated.

“While one understands the challenges that operators face in our peculiar operating environment, whoever willfully ventures into a business and wants to remain in it must do it well.

“We must not always choose the easy way out. Don’t you want to be called ‘world class’?

“Don’t you want to compete at the highest level? If not for the sake of the passengers who trust you to safely fly them, what about for your own pride?”