The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has directed Air Peace to compensate passengers affected by a delayed Lagos-Enugu flight after a preliminary investigation found 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 disrupted his plans to appear in court 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 scheduled 6:45am flight, having checked in the previous night.
According to him, passengers were initially kept waiting before they were informed that the flight had been delayed until 4:50pm.
Effiong subsequently demanded an apology and a refund from Air Peace, accusing the airline of treating passengers with disregard.
Responding to the complaint, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the regulator would investigate the disruption, rejecting claims that the authority could not hold airlines accountable.
Following the investigation, Achimugu said the delay was linked to the ripple effects of disruptions experienced by the airline on Sunday night.
He added that Air Peace management initially claimed passengers had been properly informed, but the message received by Effiong showed otherwise.
According to Achimugu, the airline’s Station Manager and Duty Manager confirmed that the notification sent to passengers was the same message Effiong received and that it had been sent in error.
The NCAA subsequently directed Air Peace to compensate the affected passengers.
The development comes amid continued scrutiny of flight disruptions in Nigeria. The NCAA’s August 2026 report showed that domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights during the month, with 4,765 delayed and 36 cancelled.
Air Peace was recorded in the report as having 1,330 delayed flights out of 1,864, representing 71.4 per cent.
However, Air Peace disputed the NCAA figures, saying it operated 2,564 flights during the month, more than 700 above the regulator’s recorded figure.
The airline also said its internal review found that only 391 delays, or about 15 per cent of its operations, were caused by factors within its control, while other disruptions were attributed to external factors including airport congestion, industrial action, weather conditions and bird strikes.
