The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has fined Qatar Airways N5 million for what it described as repeated consumer protection violations and disregard for Nigerian passengers and regulatory directives.

The sanction followed a series of unresolved complaints and the airline?s alleged refusal to comply with determinations issued by the aviation regulator.

Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, who announced the sanction in a post on his X handle, said the Authority had brought to a stop what it considers Qatar Airways? pattern of disrespect toward Nigerian passengers and aviation laws.

According to him, the airline acted as though Nigerian passengers and the NCAA are not deserving of respect, dignified treatment, and compliance with Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023, adding that the penalty marks the beginning of stricter enforcement.

According to the NCAA, a major incident that triggered the regulator?s intervention involved a male passenger travelling with his wife on a Qatar Airways flight from Lagos to the United States via Doha.

A cabin crew member alleged that the passenger touched her inappropriately while she was wheeling another traveller during boarding in Lagos. Although the allegation was not reported in Nigeria, the crew member raised it upon arrival in Doha, leading to the man?s arrest, 18-hour detention, and a hefty fine.

Achimugu noted that the detained passenger was required to sign a document written solely in Arabic, which he could not understand, before being released. Despite this, Qatar Airways reportedly refused to take him to his final destination, forcing him to purchase new tickets at substantial financial and reputational cost.

The NCAA stated that efforts to engage the airline were hindered by the conduct of its country manager, who allegedly avoided meetings with the regulator and repeatedly sent subordinates in his place. Achimugu added that the airline ignored subsequent complaints escalated by passengers and failed to respond to a formal Letter of Investigation (LOI), a violation of Nigerian aviation laws.

?The airline @qatarairways has carried on as though Nigerian passengers and the NCAA are not deserving of their respect, dignified treatment, and compliance with Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023. This will be brought to a stop immediately.

?A member of this airline?s cabin crew claimed that, while she was wheeling a passenger during boarding for a flight from Lagos to the US via Doha, a male passenger who was travelling with his wife had touched her butt.

?The authorities in Doha made the man pay a hefty fine and forced him to sign a document written ONLY in Arabic! Desperate for freedom to proceed on his journey to the US, the passenger signed a document whose contents he did not understand,?

The Director also revealed that Royal Air Maroc and Saudi Air have been cautioned over similar infractions and may face heavy sanctions if they fail to comply with the NCAA?s directives.

He reiterated that the Authority remains committed to protecting the rights of all stakeholders, noting that Nigeria?s robust aviation consumer protection framework must be respected by all airlines operating in the country.

?This behaviour stops now. I understand that some countries do not have advanced aviation consumer protection regulations like Nigeria does. In certain cases, some countries don?t even have any. This creates a situation where airlines operating out of those countries (mostly national carriers) act with disdain towards consumer protection enforcement in Nigeria.

?This is not a situation that we would accept here. It is against the law for ANY Airlines not to respond to the NCAA. It is against the law to provide false information to the NCAA. It is against the law to fail to comply with the provisions of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023,? Achimugu said. (Channels TV)

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