The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued a stern warning to domestic airlines over their continued delay in refunding passengers, describing the practice as a violation of existing aviation regulations and an affront to the authority's powers.

Michael Achimugu, Director of Consumer Protection NCAA, in a post on his X handle, on Monday, said that some domestic airlines have continued to tell passengers that refunds take up to four weeks, instead of the 14 days stipulated in the NCAA Regulations 2023.

"Domestic airlines need to stop telling passengers that their refund process takes 4 weeks. There can't be two captains-in-command on an aircraft," Achimugu stated.

He stressed that the NCAA's rules are binding and must be followed to the letter by all operators. "The NCAA regulations are clear about the timeframe for ticket refunds, and it is 14 days. Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023 remains in force. Operators cannot create a different rule in this regard," he said.

Achimugu further called on air transport users to report airlines that violate this regulation by forwarding evidence of communication to his official email and those of other Consumer Protection Department officers.

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"To all the passengers: if you apply for a refund and an airline tells you that it would take 4 weeks, kindly forward that communication to [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] immediately," he advised.

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He emphasised that the NCAA would no longer tolerate practices that undermine its authority or subject passengers to unfair treatment.

"Enough of this. We cannot all claim to be working for the improvement of the industry and be duplicating rules in a manner that undermines the Authority and is unfair to passengers," Achimugu warned.

NCAA warns domestic airlines against delaying passenger refunds beyond 14 days - Businessday NG