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The Federal Government has said Airlines operating in the country must refund the full cost of travel tickets to passengers after a two-hour delay.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, disclsoed this on Thursday during the weekly State House briefing at Aso Villa, Abuja.
He read some of the rights of aviation passengers at the briefing and charged them to demand their rights whenever they are being trampled upon by airlines.
“On domestic flights, delay beyond one hour, carrier should provide refreshment, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one e-mail. They should send you an SMS or email or call you to say, ‘I am sorry, I am delaying for one hour.’
“Delay for two hours and beyond, the carrier shall reimburse passengers the full volume of their tickets.
“Delay between 10pm and 4am, carrier shall provide hotel accommodation, refreshment, meal, two free calls, SMS, email and transport to-and-fro airport,” Sirika said, stressing that same rules apply to international flights.
The minister, who said his ministry has started sanctioning some airlines who default on consumer rights, however, urged passengers not to be unruly at airports.
Recently, flight cancellations and delays have characterised inter-city air transportation in the country, with passengers scolding the commercial airlines for keeping them waiting at airports for hours after their scheduled departure time.