Nigeria’s airlines record 13,411 delayed flights in six months, says report

Domestic airlines operating in Nigeria recorded 13,411 cases of delayed flights between January and June, according to the Consumer Protection Department of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

During the period, about 21,662 flights were operated by eight airlines, a document issued by the department and obtained by our reporter on Thursday in Lagos has revealed.

According to the report, 516 flights were also cancelled for various reasons by the airlines.

It listed the airlines in operation as Aero Contractors, Arik Air, Air Peace, Azman Air, Dana Air, First Nation, Med-View and Overland.

Air Peace which operated 6,715 flights, topped the chart of delayed and cancelled flights with 3,966 and 24 respectively.

The report says Arik Air followed with 2,370 delayed flights and 381 cancellations out of its 4,069 flight operations.

Dana Air operated 3,261 flights with 2,133 cases of delayed flights and eight cancelled flights while Med-View recorded 1,558 and 51 delayed and cancelled flights respectively out of its 2,245 flights.

Also, Azman Air operated 2,089 flights with 1,388 delayed and 22 cancellations, Overland 1013 flights with 665 delayed and seven cancellations and FirstNation 579 flights with 163 delayed and only three cancellations.

It was also reported that the airlines had attributed the delays to operational reasons, high cost of aviation fuel as well as inadequate navigational aids at some airports across the country which militates against flying in adverse or hazy weather conditions.