Nigeria Airports Where Airlines Habitually Delay Flights, Call Travellers’ Bluff

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Flight delays have rather become a norm in Nigeria and protest by disappointed air travelers is also becoming a regular scene at airports across the country. Yet, it doesn’t appear that the airlines or the authorities are bothered enough or see the worrisome trend as a big deal.

Like Oyegoke,Ooreoluwa Akinmameji, has her own tale of disappointment too. She was playing the big sister role when she booked a Max Air flight in May 2021 for her brother who was to go to Kano for his national youth service.

Speaking to our correspondent about the experience, Akinmameji explained: “A day into his journey, my brother got a text message from the airline that his flight had been rescheduled by one hour. On the day he was to travel, he got another text message at 12pm that the flight had been canceled altogether.

“Together with my dad, we immediately left for the airport to find out what was happening. On getting there, the officials of the airline simply told us that they had no plane flying that route for the day.”

Miffed but helpless, Akinmameji said she was forced to book another flight with another airline to take her brother to Kano.

She added that on top of the disappointment, getting a refund from Max Air for the canceled also became a Herculean task.

“When I asked for a refund, I was asked to come back some days later. When I returned on the given date, they told me there was no cash to make a refund to me. It was not until about a month after that they eventually made a refund,” she said.

Apart from the loss of precious time, delayed flight, which has become rampant or habitual among local airlines, has cost many Nigerians business or economic opportunities.

This was exactly the case with Emeka Dive, a businessman, who in mid-2021 booked a flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt to seal a business deal.

His flight was scheduled for 2 pm but the aircraft never left Lagos until 9 pm. The businessman wasted seven precious hours at the airport and needless to say that he lost the business opportunity.

Indicting statistics

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority keeps a record of delayed flights. Our correspondent obtained a copy of the NCAA’s record of delayed flights for the first quarter of 2021.

The document, titled, “Executive Summary on International and Domestic Flight Operations (January – March 2022), immediately shows that delayed flight has reached an epidemic level in the country and the ugly trend cuts across all local airlines.

According to the record, out of a total of 23,619 local flights in the first quarter of 2022, delays were experienced in 14,121 instances. That is 59.7 percent cases of delay.

A breakdown of the statistics shows that in January, Aero Contractor Airlines made 675 air trips and had 409 of that number delayed. This amounted to 61 percent delays in airline flights in the month.

Similarly, Arik Air made 1,239 trips and recorded 807 or 65 per cent delays.

For Azman Air, it was 269 or 66 per cent delays out of a total of 403 air trips made.

Dana Air had 684 trips and recorded 509 or 74 percent delays.

Overland undertook 245 trips with 214 or 87 percent delays.

Air Peace had 2,183 air trips and recorded 1,351 or 62 percent delays.

Max Air had 868 trips and recorded 516 or 59 percent delays.

United Airlines had a total of 736 trips with 460 (63 percent) delays.

Green Africa made 306 trips with 175 (57 percent) delays.

Ibom airline had the least number of delayed flights with 285 of their total 1,010 flights representing 28 percent being delayed.

The February statistics aren’t any better.  Aero Contractor flew 601 times and 359 of that number was delayed amounting to 60 percent delays.

Arik Air had a total of 918 flights with 606 (66 percent) delayed.