The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has directed airlines, local and international, to inform their passengers ahead of time of any flight delay or cancellation.
The regulatory agency issued the warning in Lagos on Thursday as flight cancellation, delay and diversion continued in the Nigerian airspace.
NCAA in a statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Sam Adurogboye, said that it was expedient for airlines to inform the passengers ahead of time in order to reduce the stress they experience.
Adurogboye said operators should ensure that necessary measures were put in place to cushion the effects of flight delays or cancellations on their passengers, warning that NCAA would expect strict compliance from all stakeholders regarding the circular.
Adurogboye also appealed to passengers over the prevailing flight delays and cancellations experienced in airports across the country.
He said this was due to the adverse weather situation not just in the country but across the world.
He said, “The inclement weather is a global experience at the moment, which has warranted cancellation of in-bound international flights alike; therefore, not peculiar to Nigeria.”
He recalled that earlier, the authority had urged pilots, operators and other stakeholders to exercise restraints over Harmattan haze and safety approach to adopt.
The regulatory agency had issued an Advisory Circular (AC): NCAA-AEROMET last November, alerting pilots to the hazards associated with haze, which he said was a dry and dusty wind that blows South from the Sahara across Nigeria.
He declared the weather was expected to continue till March, 2020.
