NCAA accuses Qatar Airways of mistreating Nigerian passengers, threatens penalties

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has accused Qatar Airways of mistreating Nigerian passengers.

It also slammed the airline for  disregarding consumer protection regulations under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.

The regulator warned of stiff sanctions against the airline for what it described as repeated acts of non-compliance.

The allegation was made in a statement by Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, shared on his official X account on Friday.

According to Achimugu, the latest case involved a Nigerian passenger travelling with his wife from Lagos to the United States via Doha.

A Qatar Airways cabin crew member accused him of sexual harassment while boarding in Lagos but failed to report it until the flight landed in Doha.

“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.

“She did not report this incident in Lagos. On arrival in Doha, she made an allegation against this passenger, leading to his arrest and detention for about eighteen hours,” the statement read in part.

Achimugu said the passenger was detained, fined, and forced to sign a document written only in Arabic before being denied onward travel.

“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,” he said.

The NCAA accused Qatar Airways of ignoring multiple regulatory directives and failing to respond to passenger complaints.

“Upon invitation by the NCAA, the airline’s country manager, who has a penchant for evading meetings with the NCAA, only sent his subordinates to attend. However, the NCAA made a determination on that matter along with others.

“As has become typical of @qatarairways, they failed to comply with all determinations made from that meeting.

“They have also failed to treat subsequent complaints from other passengers escalated to them by the CAA, including a total silence upon receipt of a letter of investigation (LOI) sent to them by the NCAA.

“This behaviour stops now,” Achimugu declared.

He noted that Qatar Airways’ actions reflect a broader disregard by some foreign airlines toward Nigerian regulations.

“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,” he said.

The NCAA stressed that ignoring regulatory orders is unlawful.

“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,” the statement warned.

Achimugu added that Captain Chris Najomo, NCAA’s Director General, remains firm on consumer protection and will ensure erring airlines face consequences.

“The DGCA, Captain Chris Najomo, has never minced words about his position on consumer protection issues, and we will apply appropriate and stiff penalties against the airlines that, in perpetuity, fail to comply.”