BY SEYIFUNMI LUMEKO
The Nigerian government has concluded a plan to ensure airline operators in the country refund the full cost of travel tickets to passengers after a two-hour flight delay..
Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation made this declaration on Thursday at the weekly State House Briefing in Aso Villa, Abuja.
He urged passengers to demand their rights whenever they are being trampled upon by airline operators in Nigeria.
His words: “On domestic flights, delay beyond one hour, the 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 10 pm and 4 am, the 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.”
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According to Sirika, the ministry has started sanctioning some airlines who default on consumer rights.
However, the operators hinged their reason for flight delay and cancellation on non-availability and the rising cost of aviation fuel and inadequate parking spaces at airports..
