NCAA tackles CPC's over regulatory power on consumer protection

                              The airline at the center of controversy

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority [NCAA] has expressed grave concerns over the intermittent encroachment of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) into matters within NCAA's regulatory purview.On Tuesday, 29th April 2014, the media was awash with what was referred to as Order of Council from CPC, under which far reaching sanctions were purportedly meted out to an air carrier, Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Limited. According to CPC, its action was pursuant to several publications in some National Dailies and a consumer complaint it received.
According to a press statement issued yesterday by the Authority, it pointed out that :"The general public need to know that while it is correct that CPC which was established by the Consumer Protection Council Act of 1992 was given the functions to, among others, provide redress to consumers' complaints through negotiation, mediation and consultation as well as cause offending service/goods providers to compensate and provide relief and safeguard to injured consumers, these functions are general and not specific to civil aviation.
It is the NCAA, established by the Civil Aviation Act of 2006 that is given specific powers, among other things -
i. to regulate, supervise and monitor the activities of Nigerian and foreign carriers, travel and other aviation agents operating in Nigeria;
ii. to institute programmes for the protection of aviation consumer interests;
iii. to conduct economic regulation of airlines, aerodromes, air navigation services and other aviation and allied service providers;
iv. to investigate and determine upon its own initiative or upon receipt of a complaint by any air carrier, air travel agent, consumer of air transport service or other allied aviation service provider, whether any air carrier, air travel agent or provider of any other allied aviation service has been or is engaged in unfair practices in air transportation or in the provision of other allied aviation service and order such air carrier, air travel agent or other allied aviation service provider to desist from such practices;
v. to formulate schemes for suitable compensation of passengers and other aviation and allied service consumers arising from different forms of grievances; and
vi. to develop, make, issue and revise regulations, rules, orders, terms and conditions in respect of any matter relating, incidental or supplemental thereto".Based on above statute provisions, the NCAA said: "It is therefore abundantly clear that the general powers given to the CPC by the earlier legislation to redress consumers' complaints should yield to the specific powers given to NCAA by the latter legislation in so far as the subject of civil aviation consumer protection is concerned.
To make matters worse, CPC purported to have sanctioned Aero Contractors relying on Part 19 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NigCARs), otherwise known as Passenger Bill of Rights. The NigCARs was made by NCAA pursuant to powers to make regulations given to the Authority by the Civil Aviation Act, 2006. The Authority which was defined and referred to in, and given powers to enforce, the Regulations, including Part 19 dealing with Passengers' Rights and Airlines' Obligations to Passengers, is the NCAA. No other body is empowered to enforce the NigCARs. The CPC has no power to sanction any air carrier pursuant to Part 19 of NigCARs.
The general public may wish to know that NCAA had made this position known to CPC by letter written as far back as January, 2014 and requested CPC to yield civil aviation consumer protection to the Authority. In the said letter, NCAA informed CPC that, as empowered by law, the Authority had not only made regulations for aviation consumer protection (Part 19 of NigCARs) but had set up a Directorate of Consumer Protection (DCP), headed by a substantive director and manned by well-trained staff who have over the years become experts in civil aviation consumer protection.
These officers can be found in all the nation's airports and handle aviation consumer complaints on a daily basis.
With regard to the complaint against Aero Contractors, the general public may wish to be informed that the Director of Consumer Protection(DCP) of NCAA duly received and processed it and applied the appropriate sanctions under Part 19 of NigCARs.
The Authority approved the airline's offer to the passengers of free tickets on its flights to any destination of their choice in Nigeria and as we speak, eleven (11) of them have utilized the offer. NCAA in addition, ordered Aero Contractors to review its Disruption Management Manual.
This the airline had done and the revised Manual has been approved by the Regulator. Finally, NCAA issued a Warning Letter to the airline which was widely publicized.
What the CPC purported to have done, apart from being illegal, amount to double jeopardy. The aviation industry is very delicate and NCAA has been doing everything to encourage more investors as well as strive for the growth of the existing ones and can do without this meddling.
Finally, NCAA wishes to inform and assure all airline operators (Nigerian and foreign), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), other aviation and allied service providers and aviation service consumers, that there is only one organization specifically empowered by law to regulate civil aviation in Nigeria, including protection of the interests of aggrieved aviation consumers and that body is the NCAA. 

However, as a sister agency, NCAA will explore all avenues of intergovernmental relations to ensure a discontinuation of unlawful intrusion into its regulatory purview by any other body", the statement concluded.