By Seyi Babalola
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has stated that it will not hesitate to use relevant provisions of the organization’s laws to fine Turkish Airlines for abuse of Nigerian customers.
Mr Michael Achimugu, the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, revealed this to reporters in Lagos on Wednesday.
Achimugu stated that President Bola Tinubu had asked the NCAA, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and other relevant authorities to guarantee that Nigerian passengers’ rights were safeguarded at all times.
He said the NCAA was currently mediating on the feud between the European carrier and aviation labour unions, who picketed the airline’s operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to him, the agency will not hesitate to roll out stiff penalties and sanctions to Turkish Airlines as Nigerian passengers are still stranded at the airport following its failure to airlift them to Istanbul.
Achimugu said the Federal Government and its agencies would spare no effort to call to order any airline that violates the rights of Nigerian passengers.
He added that the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, had in a virtual meeting on Tuesday from the United Kingdom, initiated reconciliatory moves between the Country Manager of Turkish Airlines and the unions.
He, however, said the representative of the airline exhibited some traits of impudence, which the regulator deemed amounted to lack of regard for the system.
Arising from the infraction, Achimugu said the Federal Government would not hesitate to look deep into the impasse with the possibility of extracting the right punishment if the carrier is found culpable.
The Federal Government, he said, would take every step to ensure the rights of Nigerian passengers are not trampled on by any carrier, including foreign airlines, in taking the right steps to address any infractions on their conditions of operations into the country.
He confirmed that over 300 passengers had been trapped in the imbroglio involving the Turkish Airlines, and aviation unions, as the carrier had canceled flights out of and into Nigeria until Thursday.
Achimugu said that though the carrier claimed to have communicated with passengers through electronic mail on the on-going hitch concerning its operations into and out of the country, some passengers still turned up at the Lagos Airport.
He said: “The NCAA is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the inability of Turkish Airlines to operate flights out of Lagos Airport, due to the picketing of its operations by aviation unions.
“We will ensure that the rights of Nigerian passengers are not violated.
“President Bola Tinubu has directed the NCAA, FAAN and relevant agencies to ensure that the rights of Nigerian passengers are protected.
“Currently, the NCAA is engaging officials of Turkish Airlines, but we have observed some degree of insolence of the Country Manager, who engaged our D-G in a shouting match, he was even banging the table.
“This behaviour to the NCAA is unacceptable. At the end of our findings, if the airline is found culpable, we will invoke the relevant parts of our regulation Part 17, to met out the right punishment.”
