NCAA holds consumer awareness programme in Abuja

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is today in Abuja holding a consumer awareness programme aimed at sensitising air travellers about their rights, duties, and responsibilities to enhance their travel experience.

The initiative seeks to foster increased adoption of the robust artificial intelligence-driven digital innovation consumer rights protection and dispute management portal recently launched by the Authority.

The event, facilitated by two consultancy outfits, will take place simultaneously at two different locations in the Federal Capital Territory to ensure wider coverage of the target audience.

Pliance Global Aviation Limited will facilitate the National Civil Aviation Stakeholders Awareness Summit at the Federal Secretariat, Shehu Shagari Way, Central Business District, Abuja.

Meanwhile, Brisk Systems Limited, a digital technology firm, will facilitate the Consumer Protection Digital Innovation Stakeholders Awareness Programme at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The programme will feature a roadshow, AI demonstrations, key informant interviews, random customer interviews, and a town hall engagement with stakeholders.

This initiative has become necessary to bridge the knowledge gap among air travellers, airlines, and aviation agencies. In the past, this gap has led to misunderstandings and poor consumer experiences for many travelling on both domestic and international flights.

Studies conducted by the Consumer Protection Directorate of the NCAA reveal that many passengers are unaware of their rights and obligations. Furthermore, issues like flight delays, often caused by natural phenomena, cannot be blamed on airlines or airport management.

According to a statement issued by the regulatory agency, “It is in pursuance to the renewed commitment of the executive management of the NCAA under the leadership of Captain Chris Ona Najomo towards birthing a civil aviation and air transportation industry that will contribute maximally to economic growth and development in the country that the regulatory authority has decided to close this gap through the forthcoming summit.

“One of the objectives of the summit is to regain travellers’ confidence through the enforcement of consumers’ rights, build a more informed customer and air travel community base, and entrench service excellence culture across the civil aviation value chain in the country. There has been a great need, more than ever, to adopt a more robust and inclusive regulatory approach and strategic intervention mechanism in the discharge of the authority’s mandate.

“Consequently, the NCAA, through a consortium of consultants, has set up a series of well-structured, logically aligned, and strategically situated programs of events to drive the rebirthing, rebranding, and reengineering initiatives.

“Fundamentally, the series of stakeholder engagement and public awareness programmes are aimed at setting the roadmap for achieving a more efficient civil aviation and air transportation system in the country through an inclusive dialogue by critical stakeholders and major actors in the Nigerian civil aviation and air transportation value chain.”

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