Year in Review: Airlines Sanctioned by Nigerian Authorities in 2025 for Mistreatment of Passengers
- Seven Nigerian airlines were sanctioned by the Nigerian government in 2025 for various violations
- Their offences range from poor handling of customers’ baggage to maltreatment of passengers
- The airlines, which are a mix of foreign and local, paid heavy fines for various infractions
Oluwatobi Odeyinka is a business editor at Legit.ng, covering energy, the money market, technology and macroeconomic trends in Nigeria.
The Nigerian aviation sector was eventful in 2025. While dramatic events like confrontations between passengers and airline personnel made the headlines, many unpleasant experiences of passengers went unreported.
From unexplained delayed flights to maltreatment of passengers, flying from Nigerian airports was a test of patience for many Nigerians in 2025.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) reported that there were a total of 765 domestic flight delays and cancellations in the third quarter of the year alone. The most culpable airlines were United Nigeria Airlines, Air Peace and Max Air.
Source: Getty Images
A lot of Nigerian passengers have called out these airlines for disrupting their travel plans and other important engagements due to unexpected rescheduling and cancellation of flights.
While the regulator has threatened to sanction airlines for unexplained delays and cancellations, it did not punish any airlines specifically for these two offences in the year under review. However, it sanctioned a number of local and foreign airlines for a long list of violations of consumer rights and operational standards.
Legit.ng compiles a list of airlines sanctioned in 2025 by the Nigerian aviation authority.
1. Qatar Airways
On November 19, Qatar Airways was fined N5 million following the airline’s inhumane treatment of a Nigerian passenger. The passenger, who reportedly travelled with his wife, was detained in Doha for more than 18 hours after a cabin crew member falsely accused him of inappropriate conduct during boarding in Lagos. The passenger paid a huge fine and was made to sign a document written only in Arabic.
According to the NCAA, Qatar Airways repeatedly ignored invitations to meetings and official Letters of Investigation into the matter.
Qatar Airways, in its response through its regional communications office, expressed disappointment over the penalty and emphasised its commitment to safety and regulatory compliance.
The airline, which operated several weekly passenger and cargo services between Doha and Lagos, said it respects the NCAA’s mandate and would review the specifics of the alleged breach by the regulator.
2. Ethiopian Airways
The Ethiopian airline, alongside five other airlines, was sanctioned by the NCAA for various infractions in February. The infractions included the airline's failure to process passenger refunds.
3. Kenya Airways
It was reported that in September, Kenya Airways was fined by the NCAA over passenger rights violations, including the case involving a Nigerian traveller, Gloria Omisore.
In February, a Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, accused Kenya Airways of mishandling her during a disrupted trip that left her stranded at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Omisore, who had been denied boarding on her connecting flight to Paris due to a missing Schengen transit visa, claimed the airline had earlier assured her she was eligible to travel. The visa issue resulted in a 17-hour layover, followed by an additional 10-hour delay for an alternative London route offered by the airline.
During the long wait, Omisore reportedly requested accommodation and care, citing exhaustion and health concerns, but Kenya Airways declined, arguing that such provisions do not apply in visa-related denied boardings. The situation escalated into a confrontation, captured on video, where Omisore allegedly threw used sanitary pads at staff.
Although the airline apologised to the NCAA for the violation, it was made to pay a fine.
Source: Getty Images
4. Air Peace
The airline was sanctioned in February for violating Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations of 2023. The NCAA said the violations include failure to refund passengers within the stipulated time frame, non-responsiveness to the authority’s directives, incidents of missing and mishandled luggage, short-landed baggage, and issues relating to flight delays and cancellations.
Many Nigerian passengers have criticised Air Peace for frequent cases of delays and cancellations in recent times. Meanwhile, the local airline has promised to address these cases in 2026. To actualise this pledge, it has set aside three standby aircraft as buffers to handle technical faults, and recently, it announced shifting regional flights to daytime operations for smoother connections and reliability.
5. Arik
Arik was also one of the airlines sanctioned in February for violating consumer rights. In 2024, the federal government suspended the airline’s operations in Nigeria over a dispute between it (Arik) and Atlas Petroleum.
The NCAA and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) grounded Arik's aircraft in compliance with a court order regarding a case of $2.5 million owed by Arik to Atlas Petroleum International Ltd.
The suspension was lifted about two weeks after, following the intervention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, in the conflict.
6. Aero Contractor
The airline was sanctioned and made to pay an undisclosed amount as a fine by the NCAA for consumer protection violations. PUNCH reported that the airline refunded over N257.1m to passengers, whose flights were cancelled, between January and August 2025.
7. Royal Air Maroc
The Moroccan carrier was reportedly fined for persistent baggage-related issues as well as its previous poor record in handling passenger complaints.
NCAA threatens tougher sanctions in 2026
Legit.ng earlier reported that the NCAA threatened to impose tougher sanctions on airlines notorious for flight delays and poor passenger care.
The warning was contained in a statement shared on X on Tuesday by Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA.
Achimugu said while unexpected situations were understandable, repeated delays would no longer be accepted.
He added that airlines must provide adequate care for passengers when their flights are delayed or rescheduled, stressing that the authority would henceforth “name and shame” airlines that fail to comply with consumer protection guidelines.
Source: Legit.ng
