NCAA outlines passenger compensation rights for delayed luggage, others

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced that passengers experiencing delayed luggage are entitled to compensation.

For domestic flights, passengers can receive a first needs compensation payment of N10,000, while those on international flights are eligible for $170.

At a media briefing in Abuja, the acting Director General of the NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, emphasized the importance of passengers being aware of their rights.

The DG who was represented by the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Micheal Achimugu stated that “When a passengers’ baggage is delayed, he or she is entitled to first needs payment of N10,000 for domestic flights and $170 for international flights while the baggage is being searched for as the airline has from 1-7 days to conduct search for domestic flights, and for international flights, 1 -21 days to search for the luggage.”

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Responding to questions on missing luggage, he stated that “A baggage is said to be lost if not found after 7 days search for domestic flights, and 21 days search for international flights.

“Accordingly $1,000 is the liability limit to be paid to domestic passengers while for international passengers, it amounts to 1,288 SDR (Special Drawing Right) which is a special currency that can be converted to any country’s currency subject to evaluation of claim by the airlines’ insurance company,” he further explained

The NCAA further stated that timeline refund for cancelled flight tickets if paid in cash is immediate refund and 14 days for payments made via bank teller or credit card payments

“There is also a penalty of N5m to the airline who fails to refund on canceled flights,” it added

Speaking further, Achimugu noted that the Authority has achieved 65 per cent case resolution, adding that out of the 100 cases it received in September, 75 of them were resolved in 10 days while others were resolved on the spot.