Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said yesterday that it will invoke relevant sections of its regulation to meet out stiff penalties/ sanctions to Turkish Airlines on the maltreatment of Nigerians passengers , who have remained stranded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, for the past few days.
Spokesperson of the regulatory body and Director , Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr Michael Achimugu, who disclosed said the NCAA is currently mediatiing on the feud between the foreign carrier and Aviation Unions, which picket the airline’s operations at the Lagos Airport on Tuesday.
Achimugu said the Federal Government and its agencies will spare no efforts to call to order any airline that violates the rights of Nigerian passengers.
Achimugu said the Director General of NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo had in a virtual meeting initiated reconciliation moves between the Country Manager of Turkish Airlines and the unions, but the representative of the foreign exhibited some traits of insolence , which the regulator observed amounted to lack of regard for the system.
Arising from the infraction, Achimugu said the Federal Government will not hesitate to look deep into the impasse with the possibility of extracting the right punishment if the carrier is found culpable.
The Federal Government, Achimugu said, will take every step to ensure the rights of Nigerian passengers are not trampled upon by any carrier, including foreign airlines, in taking the right steps to address any infractions on their conditions of operations into the country.
He confirmed that hundreds of passengers have been trapped in the imbroglio involving the Turkish Airlines and aviation unions, as the carrier has canceled flights out of and into Nigeria until Thursday.
Achimugu said though the carrier claimed to have communicated with passengers through electronic mail on the on- going hitch concerning its operations into and out of the country, some passengers still turned up at the Lagos Airport.
He said : “ The NCAA is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the inability of Turkish Airlines to operate flights out of Lagos Airport, due to the picketing of its operations by aviation unions, we will ensure that the rights of Nigerian passengers are not violated.