The Nigerian aviation industry was not designed to satisfy air passengers’ interest, according to an aviation expert who spoke on the matter.
Amos Akpan, the Managing Director of Flights and Logistics Solutions said on Wednesday that from the operators to the government regulators, the industry is not designed to favour passengers.
Nigerian travelers are faced with flight cancelations and delays which alters the schedules of passengers without compensation from the airlines.
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In the first quarter of 2023, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority released statistics showing that out of 2,791,591 domestic passengers, 10,128 were delayed.
About 11 domestic airlines operating in the country canceled 284 flights in the first three months of the year.
Amos said on Arise Tv, “Our aviation system right from the Air Operators of Nigeria and the current operators of airlines and the government designed the aviation businesses without putting the customer as a priority. When you are setting up an airline, the schedule, and your operational plan should be geared towards customers satisfaction.
“When setting up aviation infrastructure, it should be designed to meet the customer needs. What we are doing now is we force the customer into own plan. For instance, you have to take a flight from a particular business, you will have to align yourself with the schedule of the airline. The airline does not plan it to meet the traveler’s needs.
“The airports and other facilities are not designed for the customers and other users. So, when we address that, it will be easier to build the industry on customer satisfaction. “
Akpan said the gap in the industry explains why during flight delays or cancelations, customers cannot use the same ticket to board the next available airline.
He said, “When it comes to flight delays, sometimes you share the blame in percentage between government infrastructure and the airlines improper schedule planning. Airlines have to be blamed.
“We have to address this. There should be a deliberate policy of emergency on the aviation industry because it contributes a lot to the Nigerian GDP.”