NIGERIA: FCCPC summons Air Peace Over Mounting Refund Complaints

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria

Nigeria’s competition regulator, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), has ordered the country’s largest domestic carrier, Air Peace, to appear before it on 23 June after a wave of passenger complaints alleging the airline failed to refund fares for flights it cancelled.

In a summons dated 13 June and signed by the FCCPC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, the watchdog invoked Sections 32 and 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, demanding that the airline’s management report to the Commission’s Abuja headquarters with detailed records of cancellations and refunds for the past year.

The notice stated: “The Commission is concerned about a deluge of consumer complaints regarding non-refund of ticket fares even when flights are cancelled,” reminding the carrier that Section 130 of the Act guarantees passengers a “timely refund” whenever a service provider fails to honour a booking.

The FCCPC has asked Air Peace to submit: a log of all refund-related complaints received in the last 12 months; documentary evidence of every refund already processed; and a list of every cancelled flight on all routes over the same period.

The statement also noted the steps the airline has taken to mitigate hardship for affected travellers, emphasizing that non-compliance will attract penalties ranging from monetary fines to imprisonment.

The summons follows a public spat last week between Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Air Peace staff at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed Airport.

The senator accused the airline of “racketeering” after he and about 30 other passengers were allegedly asked to pay an additional ₦109,100 to be moved to a later flight. Air Peace insisted Oshiomhole arrived late for the original 6:30 a.m. departure and denied any extortion.

Air Peace has not issued an official statement addressing the FCCPC’s claims, but in separate statements last week the carrier dismissed Oshiomhole’s allegations as “blatant lies,” saying it strictly adheres to aviation regulations.