NCAA Threatens To Suspend Airline Over Passenger Complaints

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, has threatened to push for the suspension of Royal Air Maroc’s operations in Nigeria over what he described as persistent violations of passenger rights and the airline’s failure to comply with regulatory directives.

In a post on his official X page, Achimugu accused the Moroccan carrier of repeatedly mishandling passengers’ baggage, providing poor customer service and failing to resolve complaints promptly despite regulatory intervention.

“The airline, Royal Air Maroc, has for the longest time, been the biggest culprit when it comes to baggage infractions, poor passenger handling, and extremely poor resolution processes when dealing with Nigerian passengers,” he wrote.

He recalled that the airline was sanctioned for consumer protection-related infractions in 2025, expressing disappointment that its services had shown little improvement since then.

“Sadly, despite the best possible support from the Authority (we support all airlines to continue to be in business), the manner of response to these issues have hardly seen much by way of improvement; baggage continue to be shortlanded without timely information to affected passengers, first need is not being paid on a consistent level, and complaints are treated mostly after the NCAA gets involved and much pressure is given,” he stated.

Achimugu also accused the airline of disregarding invitations from the aviation regulator, alleging that its Country Manager, Ahmed Boussouf, repeatedly failed to honour meetings with the NCAA.

“Royal Air Maroc’s country manager, Ahmed Boussouf, will sit in Lagos and refuse to attend meetings in Abuja. Instead, the airline will hastily send an email on the eve of the meeting that the cases are being processed, and thereafter, send one Theophilus (their Abuja rep), without authority to resolve cases or make commitments,” he said.

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According to him, Boussouf dismissed the regulator’s concerns during a recent engagement.

“Today, one of those events occurred. In registering our displeasure over this incessant disregard for Nigerian passengers and the Authority, this country manager, Boussouf, said to me, ‘Whatever you want to do, do,’” Achimugu alleged.

He stressed that the NCAA would not tolerate what he described as disrespect for Nigerian passengers and the country’s aviation regulator.

“Strict enforcement will happen against this airline and my department will push for a stoppage of Royal Air Maroc operations in Nigeria until they make a commitment to treat Nigerian passengers better,” he said.

Achimugu maintained that protecting passengers remained a priority for the authority, insisting that airlines operating under Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) must comply with Nigerian aviation regulations.

“We will ensure stiffer penalties against Royal Air Maroc this time. The job we were given to do will be done without fear,” he added.