If you’ve ever been stuck at the airport because of a cancelled flight, you know how frustrating it can be. Well, for a group of passengers flying with Ibom Air, their complaints have been heard. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the government body that oversees air travel, has stepped in and ordered the airline to compensate the affected travelers.
The trouble started when an Ibom Air flight, originally scheduled to leave at 3:30 in the afternoon, was first delayed for almost two hours. Then, to make matters worse, the flight was cancelled altogether. One of the passengers took to social media to complain about the poor service, and that’s when the NCAA got involved.
So, what went wrong? According to the NCAA, the first delay was because of a technical problem with the airplane. While that’s not something anyone wants to hear, the NCAA said it was an issue that couldn’t be helped and is considered a “force majeure,” an unexpected event that prevents something from happening.
The problem was that this one delay had a ripple effect. The same plane was supposed to fly to other destinations, and the initial technical issue threw the whole schedule off. By the time the plane would have been ready to fly to Uyo, the airport there would have already closed for the night because it is a “sunset airport,” meaning it doesn’t operate after dark.
The NCAA confirmed that Ibom Air did provide hotel rooms for some of the stranded passengers. More importantly, the airline will be sending an email to all affected passengers offering them a 25% compensation for the trouble.
The NCAA spokesman reminded everyone that while delays are frustrating, safety always comes first. The rules are in place to make sure airlines take care of their passengers when things go wrong, and in this case, it seems the airline is now following those rules.
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