By ImeAkpan
Lagos
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has protested against the intermittent encroachment of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) into matters within its (NCAA’s) regulatory purview.
The agency was reacting to the sanction that CPC reportedly meted out to Aero claiming that its (CPC’s) action was pursuant to Part 19 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs), otherwise known as Passenger Bill of Rights.
The spokesman for NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke NCARs was made by NCAA pursuant to powers to make regulations given to it by the Civil Aviation Act, 2006.
“The Authority which was defined and referred to, and given powers to enforce, the regulations, including Part 19 dealing with Passengers’ Rights and Airlines’ Obligations to Passengers, is the NCAA. No other body is empowered to enforce the NCARs. The CPC has no power to sanction any air carrier pursuant to Part 19 of NCARs.
NCAA had made this position known to CPC by letter written as far back as January, 2014 and requested CPC to yield civil aviation consumer protection to the authority. In the said letter, NCAA informed CPC that, as empowered by law, the authority had not only made regulations for aviation consumer protection (Part 19 of NCARs) but had set up a Directorate of Consumer Protection (DCP), headed by a substantive director and manned by well-trained staff who have over the years become experts in civil aviation consumer protection. These officers can be found in all the nation’s airports and handle aviation consumer complaints on a daily basis.
“With regard to the complaint against Aero, the DCP of NCAA duly received and processed it and applied the appropriate sanctions under Part 19 of NCARs. The Authority approved the airline’s offer to the passengers of free tickets on its flights to any destination of their choice in Nigeria and as we speak, eleven (11) of them have utilized the offer. NCAA in addition, ordered Aero to review its Disruption Management Manual. This the airline had done and the revised Manual has been approved by the regulator. Finally, NCAA issued a warning letter to the airline which was widely publicized.
“What the CPC purported to have done, apart from being illegal, amount to double jeopardy. The aviation industry is very delicate and NCAA has been doing everything to encourage more investors as well as strive for the growth of the existing ones and can do without this meddling.
“NCAA wishes to inform and assure all airline operators (Nigerian and foreign), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), other aviation and allied service providers and aviation service consumers, that there is only one organization specifically empowered by law to regulate civil aviation in Nigeria, including protection of the interests of aggrieved aviation consumers and that body is the NCAA. However, as a sister agency, NCAA will explore all avenues of intergovernmental relations to ensure a discontinuation of unlawful intrusion into its regulatory purview by any other body,” he said.
Ndubuoke contended that that the general powers given to the CPC by the earlier legislation to redress consumers’ complaints should yield to the specific powers given to NCAA by the latter legislation in so far as the subject of civil aviation consumer protection is concerned.
