The regulator’s preliminary investigation found that passengers were sent an incorrect notification despite the flight having been rescheduled.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed Air Peace to prepare a compensation package for passengers affected by a delayed Lagos-Enugu flight after its preliminary investigation found that the airline sent passengers the wrong notification about the disruption.
The development followed a complaint by human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong, who said the delay caused him to miss a scheduled court appearance in Enugu State.
The NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the disruption was linked to the ripple effects of the previous night’s disruptions.
However, he said Air Peace should have informed passengers booked on the Monday morning flight that it had been rescheduled.
Mr Effiong said he arrived at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, at about 5:50 a.m. to board the 6:45 a.m. Air Peace flight after checking in the previous night.
He said he was due to appear in court in Enugu that morning for a case scheduled for a definite hearing.
According to him, passengers were kept waiting for about an hour before airline officials announced that the flight had been delayed until 4:50 p.m.
Mr Effiong also questioned why the airline sent another reminder to passengers at about 2:01 a.m. asking them to report for the flight despite the disruption.
He said the delay meant he would miss his court appearance and incur additional transportation and other expenses.
He subsequently criticised the airline and aviation regulators over what he described as poor handling of passengers affected by flight disruptions.
Mr Effiong also cited NCAA data showing that Air Peace recorded 1,330 delayed flights out of 1,864 flights listed by the regulator for August.
Responding to Mr Effiong’s complaint on X, Mr Achimugu said the NCAA could not be expected to intervene in a disruption before it occurred, but that passengers could report such incidents to the authority.
He said the regulator would investigate the matter and acknowledged the inconvenience caused to the passengers.
Mr Achimugu later explained that the investigation showed that the Lagos-Enugu flight was affected by disruptions from the previous night.
He said the airline should have notified passengers of the change in schedule.
According to him, a senior management official of Air Peace initially claimed that passengers had been informed.
However, after Mr Effiong shared a screenshot of the message he received, the airline’s station and duty managers confirmed that the message sent to passengers was the one he received and that it had been sent in error.
“The Station Manager and Duty Manager have confirmed that the messages sent out were the ones you received, and that it was done in error,” Mr Achimugu said.
He said the airline officials also acknowledged that passengers should have been informed that the flight had been rescheduled.
Mr Achimugu said Air Peace told the NCAA that the affected passengers had been taken to a hotel and would receive care until boarding time, but added that the regulator was still verifying the claim.
Mr Achimugu said the NCAA had directed Air Peace to submit a compensation package for the affected passengers in line with Part 19 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023.
“Timely and honest information is key, and there was a gap in this regard,” he said, adding that sending the wrong notification could not be treated as a force majeure incident.
He added that the airline would avoid sanctions if it provided the affected passengers with compensation and the required duty of care, but warned that sanctions could follow if it failed to comply.
He stressed that sanctions are not automatically imposed after every flight disruption, noting that the applicable rules determine when and how penalties are applied.
Under Part 19, which governs passengers’ rights and airlines’ obligations, domestic airlines must provide passengers with the reasons for a delay within 30 minutes of the scheduled departure time. The regulations also provide for refreshments and communication assistance after two hours, reimbursement or rerouting beyond three hours, and hotel accommodation and transport when a delay extends from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. or when the airport is closed.
The regulations also provide for compensation of at least 25 per cent of the fare for eligible domestic cancellations, subject to the conditions and exceptions contained in the rules.
The incident comes amid renewed concerns over flight disruptions in Nigeria.
The NCAA’s August 2026 report showed that 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights during the month, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 were cancelled.
Air Peace was listed with 1,330 delayed flights out of 1,864 flights, representing 71.4 per cent of the flights recorded for the airline in the NCAA’s dataset.
