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 The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authori­ty (NCAA) has said it will begin pub­licly naming and shaming airlines that fail to comply with aviation regulations, particularly in cases of flight cancellations and delays.

The agency, in a strongly word­ed warning posted on its X handle on Monday, signed by its spokes­person, Michael Achimugu, noted that passengers that are left strand­ed between the hours of 10:00p.m and 4:00a.m due to cancelled or delayed flights are entitled to ho­tel accommodation at the airline’s expense.

He said: “The situation where airline staff intentionally disap­pear, leaving NCAA Consumer Protection Officers to handle jus­tifiably irate and frustrated passen­gers will no longer be tolerated.”

Achimugu, while acknowl­edging the operational difficulties facing airlines in Nigeria, pointed out that challenges do not excuse non-compliance with aviation regulations.

“While one understands the challenges that operators face in our peculiar operating environ­ment, whoever willfully ventures into a business and wants to re­main in it must do it well.

“We must not always choose the easy way out. Don’t you want to be called ‘world class’? Don’t you want to compete at the high­est level? If not for the sake of the passengers who trust you to safely fly them, what about for your own pride?” NCAA statement reads.

The authority further criticised the exposure of its staff to poten­tially dangerous situations, stress­ing that NCAA officials are only present to support both passengers and the airline industry.

“You cannot expose NCAA officials to avoidable risk when all they do is support your business and protect your rights,” Achimu­gu added.

The NCAA pledged strict ad­herence to its regulations and re­iterated that it would not hesitate to apply the full weight of the law in cases that warranted sanctions.

“For infractions that are sanc­tionable, the authority will apply the fullest measures possible. We will not abandon the letters of our regulations,” Achimugu added.

Achimugu said the decisive action follows a directive from the Federal Government and the Min­ister of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

The NCAA said it would now begin naming and shaming de­faulting airlines as part of its en­forcement strategy.

“In compliance with the direc­tives from the Federal Govern­ment and the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Devel­opment, the naming and shaming will commence.

“While we have done our best to advise per solutions to flight disruptions and why not nearly all cases are the fault of the airlines, the NCAA expects that operators must comply with the regulations in the event of a disruption,” he added.