By January 2024, aviation regulators will start forcing airlines to reimburse customers for canceled or delayed flights, according to Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo.
When the minister went before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Aviation on Tuesday to defend his ministry’s budget for the fiscal year 2024, he made this revelation.
Keyamo further promised that as part of the compensation plan, a weekly list of airlines that have canceled or delayed flights would be made public in the media.
“I have contacted the customer’s satisfactory commission about the treatment of Nigerians,” he declared. To show how concerned I am, I have actually returned to the committee.
“And I mentioned that in my last speech, which I delivered at our retreat in Warri and our stakeholders gathering in Lagos. I requested that they publish a weekly list of the airlines that they do not fly as soon as the deadline approaches, along with information on canceled and delayed flights, the number of hours of delay, compensation provided, and any regulatory actions taken against these airlines. That will begin in January.
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As part of the compensation, the ministry of aviation suggested that airlines that delayed passengers’ flights have a discount taken off their tickets.
Keyamo stated, “For every delay, there is a report, an actual report by the regulator , what did they do? Did they pay compensation? And if they didn’t pay compensation we have said that the other way to get compensation if they can return cash is that once the passenger is buying the next ticket it must be given a rebate. That passenger must be given a 50 per cent rebate or 40 per cent rebate because they must be a rebate”.
Keyamo said the best option to develop Nigerian airports is through concessions to investors.
“Private Partnership must take center stage,” he continued. We lack the necessary finances to make it even negotiable.
We will offer the people what we want in exchange for a concession—not what they want. We must choose what it is we want. What unites us all is the type and standard of the concession.
“We want to move forward, but before we do, I want each of us to take a seat, search for the best candidates, search the entire globe for the greatest opportunity for Nigeria, and elevate our offer to tier one rather than tier two. Top-tier investors should visit Nigeria and construct our entryway.
