NCAA moves to simplify consumer complaints resolution

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The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has moved to simplify the process of resolving consumer complaints in the aviation sector in Nigeria.

Speaking at a training for staff on Wednesday in Abuja, the Acting Director General of the NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo said the agency will soon deploy a portal that will hasten consumer complaint resolution.

Represented at the event by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr. Michael Achimugu, the Ag.DG explained that the portal will also ensure the on-time performance of all the airlines operating in Nigeria.

“There has never been a consumer protection portal in the NCAA. This is the first. This is historic. When you check the time frame it took us to get to this point, you will see the determination to make it work,” he said, adding that the building of the portal started when he was the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection.

He said that the portal will also make the job of 260 CPOs across all the airports in Nigeria easier.

“This postal is also for data collection. You will agree that data is a major issue in Nigeria. In the aviation industry, you can’t make a proper plan and get things right without data. This portal makes it easier for everyone, including stakeholders,” he noted.

“The portal will ensure transparency as we are onboarding all the airlines, where people get to see all the complaints that have been sent to each airline. You can track the resolution process. We don’t need to name and shame it because it is a self-reporting system. You are already naming and shaming yourself if you don’t perform well,” Najomo noted.

Also at the training, the Deputy General Manager of the ICT Department of the NCAA, Akwaugo Mgbeokwere, explained that the switch from a manual process to an automated portal would enhance service delivery.

“The consumer protection department deals with aviation consumers, and we don’t want a situation where their complaints or issues are not properly handled. So, we have decided to automate the processes that we do manually to enhance service delivery and ensure that our consumers are properly taken care of and are happy using the sector.

“Some of the issues that would be resolved are baggage complaints, flight cancellations, and other issues that happen at the airport. Before, if there were complaints, we reported them to the CPD desk at the terminal where the issue was happening, but with the portal, the process of documentation will be done, and with that, we will have an analysis of the issues that are going on and use it to assess airports and airlines that are fantastic at handling complaints from aviation users.

“The data we collate would also be used to determine the airlines that usually delay or cancel flights. It is the way to go to enhance service delivery in the aviation sector,” she stated.

A participant at the training, Amarachukwu Onoh, said, “The training and the introduction of the portal will make my job easier, faster, and more effective. Right now, we do online and offline documentation of complaints, but if we operate from the same portal, tracking of complaints will be easy.

“Before now, we had the challenge of having 50 to 100 emails of complaints coming in, and it becomes difficult to track and resolve, but with this portal, this challenge will become a thing of the past.”

The Assistant General Manager, Consumer Protection, Mrs Ifueko Abdulmalik, said the portal is in line with the NCAA’s automation of its processes amid reforms.

“We are onboarding the staff of the airlines so that they are also seeing the complaints in real-time. This makes the processes smoother and faster, and the consumers are happier because that’s the ultimate goal,” she noted.

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