Cases of missing baggage/pilferage and flight delays and cancellations are the major complaints lodged by both passengers on international and domestic routes as shown in a report by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The report is titled ‘summary reports of complaints received against international and domestic airlines for the month of January, February and March 2016.’
For the month of January, a total of 1,282 flights were operated by 35 airlines.
The airlines are Aero, African World, Air Cote d’Ivoire, Air France, Alitalia, Altas Air, Arik Air, ASKY, British Airways, Camair-Co, Cronos Air, Dana, Delta Air, Egypt Air, Emirates, Ethiopian Air, Etihad, Gambia Bird, Iberia, and Kenya Airways.
Others are KLM, Lufthansa, Max Air, Medview, Middle East Airlines, Qatar, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordan, Rwandair, Saudi Air, Sudan Air, South African Airways, Turkish Air, United and Virgin Atlantic Airways.
The report shows that Arik Air tops the list with 205 flights, 96 delays, three cancelled flights, 27,791 total number of inbound passengers, 33,055 number of outbound passengers, 28 unresolved complaints and compensation.
Air France ranks highest with the highest number of pilferage and discourtesy. A total of 104 cases involving passengers luggage pilfered were reported and documented.
The French carrier had 81 flights in January, 31 delayed flights, no cancelled flights with 133 unresolved complaints and inability to compensate travellers.
The airline had a total number of 17, 294 inbound passengers, 18, 197 outbound passengers and 361 missing baggage found.
Emirates Airlines has the highest number of inbound and outbound passengers. The airline recorded 35, 774 inbound passengers and 36, 627 total number of outbound passengers, making the airline the highest revenue earner to Nigeria, followed by British Airways.
Emirates high inbound and outbound passenger traffic is understandable for the simple reason that the carrier does two daily frequencies to Lagos.
In summary, total number of inbound passengers recorded by the 35 carriers stands at 221, 136, while 242, 711 departed the country’s airports.
For the period under review, a total number of 1,282 flights operated on international routes, while 5,399 flights operated on domestic routes.
Eight domestic airlines are in operations. The carriers operated 5, 399 flights, recorded 3,029 delays, 120 cancelled flights with 346, 579 total number of inbound passengers and 367, 558 total number of outbound passengers.
For the month of February, a total of 1, 251 flights operated on international routes while 5, 143 flights operated on domestic routes.
