The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has disclosed that Nigerian domestic airlines refunded over ₦1.03 billion to 5,285 passengers between April and June 2025, following heightened regulatory enforcement and consumer protection efforts.
The update, posted on the authority’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, revealed:
“Between the months of April–June (2025), domestic airlines in Nigeria paid refunds to air passengers as follows: Total Number of Passengers refunded – 5,285. Combined total refunds (in naira) – ₦1,038,505,680.80.”
This significant refund comes less than a year after the NCAA launched its Consumer Protection Portal in September 2024 under the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo. The portal was introduced to ensure airline ticket refund resolutions are processed within 24 hours.
In a bid to improve airline accountability, the NCAA had also announced on December 10, 2024, its intention to sanction carriers that fail to comply with refund timelines. This was followed two weeks later by enforcement action against Air Peace, Ethiopian Airlines, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, and Royal Air Maroc for multiple consumer rights violations, including delayed refunds, noncompliance with directives, and baggage mishandling.
The NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, reaffirmed that timely refunds remain a central pillar of the Authority’s consumer protection strategy.
In a related development, Max Air was identified in mid-2025 as the least responsive domestic carrier to passenger complaints, according to the NCAA’s consumer feedback dashboard.
These regulatory measures underscore the NCAA’s intensified push for greater accountability, improved service delivery, and passenger rights enforcement across Nigeria’s aviation sector.
