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The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed Air Peace to compensate passengers affected by a delayed Lagos-Enugu flight after finding that the airline sent them an incorrect notification.
The directive followed a complaint by human rights lawyer and activist, Inibehe Effiong, who said the delay caused him to miss a scheduled court appearance in Enugu State.
Effiong said he arrived at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, around 5:50am on Monday for the airline’s 6:45am flight, having checked in the previous night.
According to him, passengers were later informed that the flight had been delayed until 4:50pm, despite receiving a reminder at 2:01am asking them to report for the scheduled flight.
Responding to the complaint, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the authority had investigated the matter and found that the disruption was linked to delays from Sunday night.
Achimugu said Air Peace should have informed passengers that the flight had been rescheduled but instead sent them the wrong notification.
“The Station Manager and Duty Manager have confirmed that the messages sent out was the one you received, and that it was done in error,” he said.
He added that the airline had claimed to have taken affected passengers to a hotel pending boarding, although the NCAA was still verifying the claim.
The NCAA subsequently directed Air Peace, in compliance with Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023, to submit a compensation package for the affected passengers.
Achimugu stressed that timely and accurate communication was essential, describing the incorrect notification as a failure that could not be classified as force majeure.
He said the airline would not face sanctions if it provided the required compensation and duty of care, but warned that heavier sanctions would be imposed if it failed to comply.
Meanwhile, the NCAA’s August 2026 data showed that Air Peace recorded 1,330 delays out of 1,864 listed flights, representing 71.4 per cent.
Air Peace disputed the figures, saying it operated 2,564 flights during the month and that more than 700 flights were omitted from the NCAA data. The airline also said internal factors accounted for only about 15 per cent of its delays.
Efforts to obtain the airline’s response to the Lagos-Enugu disruption were unsuccessful as of the time of filing the report.
