“Passengers stranded for 11 hours” — Sowore slams Airline, NCAA

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised domestic airline operators and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, over the treatment of passengers affected by prolonged flight delays at Nigerian airports.

The development was disclosed in a statement posted on Sowore’s official page following an encounter with passengers scheduled to travel from Lagos to Owerri on United Nigeria Airlines.

According to Sowore, several passengers were left stranded at the airport after their flight experienced repeated delays, with some reportedly waiting for more than 11 hours without receiving adequate information or support from the airline.

He stated that the airline continuously postponed the departure time without providing clear explanations to affected travellers. “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,” Sowore said. “Some had been stranded for more than 11 hours, while the airline repeatedly postponed their departure time without providing clear explanations or adequate care.” Sowore said the incident reflected broader concerns about customer service and regulatory oversight within Nigeria’s aviation sector.

According to him, aviation regulators, particularly the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, have not done enough to address what he described as recurring cases of poor treatment of passengers by domestic airlines. “Although we had a cordial interaction, that does not prevent us from once again stating the obvious: Nigeria’s aviation regulators, especially the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, have failed in their responsibility to rein in the irresponsible conduct of domestic airlines,” he stated.

He further alleged that flight delays had become commonplace among some domestic carriers, while communication with passengers remained inadequate. “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.