NCAA Fines Qatar Airways N5 Million Fine for Consumer Protection Breaches

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has imposed a fine of N5 million on Qatar Airways for violations related to consumer protection.

NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, who disclosed the development in a post on X, said in addition to the fine, the letters of investigation (LOI) written to the airline over other cases may lead to further sanctions if not treated satisfactorily.

In September, the NCAA accused Qatar Airways of mistreating Nigerian passengers and failing to comply with consumer protection regulations under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.

The NCAA threatened stiff penalties against the airline for repeatedly disregarding its directives.

The incident involved a Nigerian passenger accused by a Qatar Airways cabin crew member of sexual harassment during boarding in Lagos for a flight to the United States via Doha.

The allegation was only reported in Doha, where the passenger was arrested, detained for 18 hours, fined, and compelled to sign a document written solely in Arabic. Qatar Airways allegedly refused to continue his journey, forcing him to purchase another ticket at considerable financial and reputational cost.

The NCAA said it invited Qatar Airways’ country manager to a meeting over the incident, but he failed to attend, sending subordinates instead.

Achimugu had said in an earlier post that: “I understand that some countries do not have advanced aviation consumer protection regulations like Nigeria does. In certain cases, some countries don’t even have any. This creates a situation where airlines operating out of those countries (mostly national carriers) act with disdain towards consumer protection enforcement in Nigeria.

“This is not a situation that we would accept here. It is against the law for ANY Airlines not to respond to the NCAA. It is against the law to provide false information to the NCAA. It is against the law to fail to comply with the provisions of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.”

He also revealed that Royal Air Maroc and Saudi Air have been cautioned for similar infractions and risk heavy sanctions if they fail to comply with the regulator’s decisions.

Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations ensures passengers are treated fairly, airlines remain accountable, and the domestic aviation industry operates under clear consumer protection standards.

Also, under the Regulations, passengers whose flights are cancelled or disrupted can choose full reimbursement for unused portions, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, or re-routing at a later date convenient to them, subject to seat availability.