Airlines Must Refund 100% Airfares To Passengers After Two-Hour Delay — FG

Airline operators in the country must refund the full cost of
travel tickets to passengers after a two-hour delay, the Federal
Government has said.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made this known on Thursday
at the weekly State House Briefing in Aso Villa, Abuja.

He read some of the rights of aviation passengers at the
briefing and charged them to demand their rights whenever they are
being trampled upon by airlines.

“On domestic flights, delay beyond one hour, carrier should
provide refreshment, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one
e-mail. They should send you an SMS or email or call you to say, ‘I
am sorry, I am delaying for one hour’.

“Delay for two hours and beyond, the carrier shall reimburse
passengers the full volume of their tickets.

“Delay between 10pm and 4am, carrier shall provide hotel
accommodation, refreshment, meal, two free calls, SMS, email and
transport to-and-fro airport,” Sirika said, adding that the same
rules apply for international flights.

The minister, who said his ministry has started sanctioning some
airlines who default on consumer rights, however, urged passengers
not to be unruly at airports.

Of late, flight cancellations and delays have characterised
inter-city air transportation in Nigeria, with many passengers
scolding the about 10 commercial airlines operating scheduled
flights for keeping them waiting at airports for hours after their
scheduled departure time.

Airline operators in the country must refund the full cost of
travel tickets to passengers after a two-hour delay, the Federal
Government has said.

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made this known on Thursday
at the weekly State House Briefing in Aso Villa, Abuja.

He read some of the rights of aviation passengers at the
briefing and charged them to demand their rights whenever they are
being trampled upon by airlines.

“On domestic flights, delay beyond one hour, carrier should
provide refreshment, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one
e-mail. They should send you an SMS or email or call you to say, ‘I
am sorry, I am delaying for one hour’.

“Delay for two hours and beyond, the carrier shall reimburse
passengers the full volume of their tickets.

“Delay between 10pm and 4am, carrier shall provide hotel
accommodation, refreshment, meal, two free calls, SMS, email and
transport to-and-fro airport,” Sirika said, adding that the same
rules apply for international flights.

The minister, who said his ministry has started sanctioning some
airlines who default on consumer rights, however, urged passengers
not to be unruly at airports.

Of late, flight cancellations and delays have characterised
inter-city air transportation in Nigeria, with many passengers
scolding the about 10 commercial airlines operating scheduled
flights for keeping them waiting at airports for hours after their
scheduled departure time.