The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed Air Peace to compensate passengers affected by the disruption of its Lagos-Enugu flight on Monday
The directive followed a preliminary investigation by the aviation regulator, which found that the airline had mistakenly sent passengers an incorrect notification concerning the flight.
The development followed a complaint by human rights lawyer and activist, Inibehe Effiong, who accused Air Peace of irresponsibility after his Lagos-Enugu flight was delayed until the evening.
Effiong said the disruption could cause him to miss a scheduled court appearance in Enugu State.
He had demanded an apology and refund of his fare from the airline.
Effiong said he arrived at Terminal One of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, at about 5:50am for the scheduled 6:45am flight, having completed his check-in the previous night.
“I am scheduled to appear in court in Enugu State this morning for a case that is slated for definite hearing,” he said.
According to him, he became suspicious after airline officials called only passengers scheduled to travel to Enugu and Owerri on Sunday, while those booked for Monday were asked to wait.
“Apparently, they cancelled yesterday’s flight to Enugu,” he said.
He said passengers were kept waiting for about an hour before they were informed that the flight had been rescheduled to 4:50pm.
Effiong subsequently criticised the airline for what he described as repeatedly taking passengers for granted.
Responding to his complaint on X, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the regulator would investigate the disruption.
Achimugu also rejected the suggestion that the NCAA was incapable of holding airlines accountable when passengers’ rights were affected.
“The NCAA cannot treat cases in advance. It is not a miracle centre and cannot tell that a disruption would happen BEFORE it happens. When it does happen, you report to the NCAA,” he said.
Following the preliminary investigation, Achimugu told Effiong that the disruption resulted from the ripple effects of disruptions recorded on Sunday night.
He said a senior management official of Air Peace initially claimed that passengers had been informed about the changes.
However, Effiong provided the NCAA with a screenshot of the notification he received, which instructed passengers to arrive early for the scheduled flight.
Achimugu subsequently confirmed that the message received by Effiong had been sent in error.
“The Station Manager and Duty Manager have confirmed that the message sent out was the one you received, and that it was done in error,” he said.
The NCAA consequently directed Air Peace to compensate passengers affected by the disruption.
The incident comes amid an ongoing dispute between the regulator and Air Peace over the airline’s flight disruption figures.
The NCAA’s August 2026 disruption report stated that 15 domestic airlines operated 7,961 flights during the month, of which 4,765 were delayed and 36 cancelled.
The report recorded 1,330 delays for Air Peace out of 1,864 flights, representing 71.4 per cent.
Air Peace disputed the figures, saying it operated 2,564 flights during the month, more than 700 above the number recorded by the NCAA.
The airline also said its internal review showed that only 391 delays, representing about 15 per cent of its operations, were attributable to factors within its control.
According to Air Peace, the majority of the disruptions resulted from external factors, including airport congestion, industrial action, adverse weather conditions and bird strikes.
The latest directive from the NCAA places the Monday Lagos-Enugu disruption under scrutiny as the regulator continues to enforce passenger-protection rules within Nigeria’s aviation sector.
