The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, adopted two motions bothering on issues in the aviation sector such as hike in air travel fares, flight delays and cancellations, and poor airport facilities.
In the motion moved by Simon Karu titled ‘Need to Investigate the poor Performance and High Charges by Airline Operators in Nigeria,’ the House mandated its Committees on Aviation and Human Rights to “investigate the state of Nigerian airports, activities of airline operators and the coordinating agencies in the aviation sector.”
The committee is to report back within eight weeks for further legislative action.
Adopting the motion moved by Dozie Nwankwo, titled ‘Need to Expand Major Airports across the Country to Accommodate the Upsurge of Passengers,’ the House urged the Ministry of Aviation to “quickly consider expansion of major airports across the country to accommodate the upsurge in the population of air travelers.”
The House also urged the Federal Ministry of Aviation, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency to “address all issues causing unnecessary delays and inconveniences at the major airports and ensure hitch-free flight operations across the country.”
Moving his motion, Karu noted that airline have a duty to provide customer assistance and services towards ensuring that passengers get conducive and hospitable environment as well as the right information relating to their bookings and adequate flight schedule, amongst other duties.
He stated, “Nigerians have not enjoyed domestic air travel due to constant delays and cancellation of flights with impunity and change of airline departure time, contrary to regulations of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and in contravention of International Aviation Standards.
“Recently, the burden of domestic air travellers in Nigerians has been increased by the sudden 120 per cent increase in local airfares in the country.”
The lawmaker also noted that the recent rehabilitation in some airports “did not provide the desired expansion,” hence the need for expansion of the major airports which handle voluminous travelers.