Imagine booking your flight with an airline for a future date, and ahead of time only to be told on arrival that your scheduled flight has been cancelled without any prior notice or You scheduled a flight ahead of time to make it to an important meeting in another city only to be informed on arriving at the airport that your flight has been rescheduled to a subsequent time or day.
How would that make you feel? Angry, Teary, Sad, etc. Not to mention the extra resources needed to be spent for staying longer than you planned. Is there any legal remedy for this?
In this article, we will consider the legal remedies you are entitled to and can explore in Nigeria for situations where either your domestic or international flight is cancelled or delayed.
ARE YOU ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION IF YOUR FLIGHT IS DELAYED OR CANCELLED?
The answer is Yes. However, compensation for such a flight depends on the length and reason for the delay in question.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAA), provide legal remedies for air passengers in cases of delayed or cancelled flights and we will be examining them accordingly.
WHAT LEGAL REMEDIES AM I ENTITLED TO FOR A DELAYED OR CANCELLED FLIGHT?
Below is a list of remedies as provided by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAA);
IN THE CASE OF A DELAYED FLIGHT
For domestic flights
Rule 19(6) of the NCAA regulations provides guidelines and remedies available to both operating air carriers and passengers in the case of a delayed domestic flight.
Under the guidelines, an operating air carrier is obligated to provide an explanation to its passengers for the delay where a flight is reasonably expected to be delayed within 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time. The operating air carrier is also required to provide the following assistance to its passengers;
- after two hours, refreshments, telephone calls, SMS and E-mails
- Beyond three (3) hours, Reimbursement
- at a time beyond 10 pm till 4 am, or at a time when the airport is closed at the point of departure or final destination, hotel accommodation and transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel or other accommodation) free of charge
For international flights
In the case of International flights, when it is reasonably expected that a flight is to be delayed beyond its scheduled time of departure, the operating air carrier will provide its passengers, with the following assistance;
- Between two and four hours, 30% of passenger ticket price as compensation, free Telephone Calls, SMS and E-mails
- More than four hours, Meals, telephone calls, SMS, E-mails
- When the reasonably expected time of departure is at least six hours after the time of departure previously announced, hotel accommodation assistance and transport assistance
IN THE CASE OF A CANCELLED FLIGHT
Rule 19(7) provides guidelines as well as remedies available to both operating air carriers and passengers in the case of a cancelled flight. Apart from access to free refreshments, telephone calls, SMS, E-mails, accommodation and transportation as is the case with delayed flights, air passengers also have a right to compensation by way of care which would be offered free of charge.
Compensation for air passengers is provided as follows;
For domestic Flights
Passengers are entitled to free refreshments, telephone calls, SMS, E-mails, accommodation and transportation provided they were not informed of the delay at least 24 hours before the scheduled time of departure.
For international Flights
Passengers are entitled to free refreshments, telephone calls, SMS, E-mails, accommodation and transportation provided such passengers
(a) Were informed of the cancellation at least seven days before the scheduled time of departure
(b) were informed of the cancellation between three and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart not more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival; or
(c) they are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart not more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.
HOW MUCH MONETARY COMPENSATION AM I ENTITLED TO FOR A DELAYED OR CANCELLED FLIGHT
Under the NCCA regulations, air passengers are entitled to;
(i) 25% of the fares or passenger ticket price for all flights within Nigeria.
(ii) 30% of the passenger ticket price for all international flights
Only in situations where compensation of this kind is made reference within the NCCA regulations
HOW TO CLAIM COMPENSATION WHEN FLIGHT IS CANCELLED OR DELAYED
To claim compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight in Nigeria, do the following;
1. Prepare a written claim, explaining your experience with the operating air carriers during the delayed or cancelled flight. Your claim or complaint should be accompanied by the date of flight, ticket or booking number, name of the airline, and possibly the reason provided by the airline for the delay or cancellation if any as well as any other document which will serve as evidence for you claim
2. Submit your written complaint to the operating airline
3. Should the airline refuse to attend to or accept the claim in question, you have the option of either accepting the situation or making a further appeal to the Consumer Protection Directorate of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority
4. Where your claim is rejected by the Consumer Protection Directorate, you may redirect your complaint to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) for a possible review of your claims.
5. Should the FCCPC fail to do so, you may engage the services of a lawyer to file a suit in court
We hope this information is of help to you. If need to make further enquiries in this regard or need legal services with respect to your claim, feel free to contact us through the Whatsapp icon on the lower right part of this page or HERE. We’ll be delighted to assist you.
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