Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has criticised domestic airline operators and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over what he described as the poor treatment of air passengers at Nigerian airports.
Sowore raised the alarm in a statement shared on his official social media page following an incident involving passengers scheduled to travel from Lagos to Owerri aboard United Nigeria Airlines.
According to him, travellers were left stranded at the airport for hours after their flight suffered repeated delays, with some reportedly waiting for more than 11 hours without adequate communication or care from the airline.
He alleged that the airline repeatedly shifted departure time without giving passengers clear explanations, leaving them frustrated and unattended.
Sowore said: “Yesterday, I met several passengers scheduled to travel from Lagos to Owerri on United Nigeria Airlines. They had been abandoned to their fate after spending the entire day at the airport. Some had been stranded for more than 11 hours, while the airline repeatedly postponed their departure time without providing clear explanations or adequate care.”
He described the situation as part of a broader pattern of negligence within Nigeria’s aviation sector, arguing that regulatory bodies have failed to enforce discipline among domestic carriers.
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According to him, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, in particular, has not done enough to address recurring complaints of poor service delivery and passenger neglect.
“What is even more disturbing is that many of these airlines simply do not care. Delays have become routine, poor communication has become standard practice, and passengers are treated as though their time, comfort, and dignity have no value,” he added.
Sowore further lamented what he called the normalisation of flight delays and weak customer service standards, stressing that passengers are often left in the dark without timely updates or basic support.
The activist-politician urged aviation regulators to take stronger action against erring airlines and ensure better protection for passengers’ rights, warning that continued negligence could further erode public trust in the aviation industry.