The joint Committees of Aviation in the Senate and the House of Representatives, have warned domestic airlines for incessant flight delays and cancellations, saying the National Assembly will soon come up with legislation that will empower the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to grant permits to any willing foreign airline to carry out domestic operations.

The Chairman Senate Committee on Aviation, Smart Adeyemi, made this known during an oversight visit to the NCAA headquarters in Lagos.

The Chairman said domestic operators don’t care about the effects of protracted flight delays and cancellations on passengers, hence, the joint committee have decided to put in place measures that would empower the NCAA to grant an operating license to any of the foreign airlines that would be willing and able to deliver on prompt and safe air lifting of Nigerians to all their domestic destinations.

He also said that airlines’ performances records with the NCAA would be released to the public and a caveat on which one is healthy or not would accompany such public information. He said these measures are necessary so that Nigerian travellers would be treated with dignity.

Responding, the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, said the complaints by the legislators against domestic operators are well-founded and pledged that henceforth, the agency will be more firm against infractions by the airlines especially those that concern consumer abuse.

Nuhu said “We will take the issue of flight delays we take very seriously. I can assure that we will be looking at the schedule of the airlines, looking at the number of aircraft in their fleet, we will look at their maintenance programme; the number of the flight crew so we can determine the optimum number each airline can do as that is a contributory factor for the delays.”