The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed pilots not to fly with unruly passengers on board.
According to the NCAA, the decision would strengthen safety and discipline in the aviation sector.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, announced the directive on Wednesday at a meeting with all domestic airlines in Abuja.
Achimugu said the pilot would only be allowed to fly after the issues are resolved amicably or the unruly passengers are removed by security from the aircraft.
He said, “Pilots must not fly the plane until unruly passengers are removed from the aircraft by security or the issue is resolved amicably. This will go a long way to protect cabin crew and make passengers treat them courteously.
“Cases are overblown because the pilot in command did not take charge. Going forward, no passenger has the right to touch any cabin crew”.
He, however, warned cabin crew to be professional in discharging their duties.
“Cabin crew should not be rude, and passengers should not misconstrue firmness of cabin crew as rudeness.
“Starting from next week, the NCAA is going to be placing this caveat at various terminals, warning passengers about the ramifications should they not only physically assault, but even verbally assault airline staff in every terminal.
“We will protect whoever needs to be protected based on the merits of each case that comes to the CAA. We are not happy about recent events in the industry, even though it’s not like it is new, but there’s been so much negative press about these things, a lot of passengers are not well-educated about their responsibilities, and there’s too much of an obsession with rights and nothing about their responsibilities.
“We want to make sure that this situation changes, but while we are at it, and we are insisting that airlines retrain their cabin and flight crews, we must also protect the rights of these people. In doing the honest work that they are doing, they must also be treated with dignity and courtesy. Paying for a service doesn’t give you the right to hit people, and paying for a service doesn’t give you the right to be unruly.
“We cannot afford chaos in the industry at this moment, and that’s why we are doing everything we can to tidy up the system, and this is why we are having this meeting today, to both take a stand with the airlines where we ought to support their businesses, but also ensure that they also do their duties to the customers, who pay high airfares”.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Director-General of the NCAA, Mrs. Ifueko Abdulmalik, warned that the NCAA will sanction airlines over failure to notify and offer care to passengers when flights are delayed or cancelled.
The Regional Manager, Lagos/West Africa of Ibom Air, Martin Abhulimen, recounted the experience a ground staff member of the airline had with a passenger on Tuesday.
“What happened yesterday (Tuesday) was unpleasant. There was a passenger who came 19 minutes before the flight. The flight was almost done boarding and then the passenger chose to kneel down to beg the customer service agent, even after she was politely informed that the counter was closed and they could not take any other passenger at that time and because the check-in personnel could not assist her, she got upset and took the keyboard of the computer and smashed it three times on the head of the check-in agent.
“Because of obvious reasons, the check-in agent did nothing. We called the NCAA, we called the Aviation Security officials, and even the police who were within the terminal. They appealed to the passenger for more than 30 minutes, even with the aggravated assault on our staff, until the DPO of the police station came to appeal to her.
“The passenger was handled decently and taken to the police station. It was only when she got to the police station and realized that she was about to get into big trouble that she started apologizing”.
He urged the NCAA to extend the protection rights to ground staff, because they are the first set of people that passengers meet.
The Duty Manager at Green Africa in Abuja, Sylvia Ohuanyere, said, “The ground staff need a lot of protection, because we are the most affected by the poor behaviour of passengers, and it has a psychological effect on us.
“A passenger has gone beyond insulting me to cursing my children just because of delayed flights. Passengers become unruly when you don’t yield to their demands.”
The Customer Experience Manager at Rano Air, Aisha Allanso-Ahumareze, who said the airlines understand the frustration of passengers, added that most flight delays are due to safety reasons.
She said: “We understand they’re frustrated, but at the end of the day, safety is paramount, not just for the passengers, but for our crew and our ground staff as well. Airlines lose a lot of money when they reschedule flights or cancel flights. So the fact that we do this is for the safety of everybody concerned.
“We’re pleading on behalf of the airlines that the passengers should please take things easy, and the NCAA should please be more understanding and more considerate of the airlines.
Representatives of airlines present at the meeting include: Arik, Ibom, Aero, United Nigeria, Green Africa, Max Air, Rano Air, ValueJet, AirPeace, and Overland.
