July 05, (THEWILL) – Domestic airlines recorded a total of 2,791,591 passenger traffic with 1,391,560 inbound passengers and 1,400,031 outbound in the first quarter of 2023, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said in a report.
A breakdown of the traffic, as contained in the executive summary made available to THEWILL on Wednesday, indicated a total of 375,700 inbound passengers and 495,076 outbound passengers on international routes.
These flights were operated by 25 international airlines with 3,073 flights and 11 domestic airlines with 182,88 flights between January to March 2023.
Regarding complaints from passengers, the data revealed that there were 1,193 delays, 24 cancelled flights and 6 air returns on international routes, while domestic operations recorded 10,128 delays, 284 cancelled flights and 28 air returns.
The NCAA said while 9,087 missing baggage were recorded on international flights, 7,942 were found, adding that all 31 missing luggage on domestic flight operations were found.
A further breakdown of the summary shows that in January, international airlines recorded a total of 499 delayed flights with Air Peace topping the list with 53, followed by Asky with 45, Qatar with 41 and BA 33 amongst others.
In February, delayed flights were 325, with AWA recording 30, Ethiopian 33, and Kenya Air 11 amongst others. It added that 369 delayed flights were recorded in March with Qatar having 32, Air Peace 64, and United Airline 1 amongst others.
The data also revealed that while cancelled flights in January were 7, February 13 and March 4, the total number of Air/ramp returns was 25—January 8, February 10 and March 7.
The NCAA said it received 27 complaints on international routes and 45 on domestic routes, while the number of cases resolved was 9 on international flights and 22 on domestic flights.
On international routes, complaints received include overbooking, denied boarding, pilfered luggage, and discourteous conduct amongst others, just as the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) also received several complaints.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
