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Passengers’ behaviour, the major cause of flight delays in Nigeria- Onyema
The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace Limited, Dr Allen Onyema, has said that passengers’ behaviour constitutes major cause of flight delays in Nigeria.
According to him, these delays results to huge financial losses by airlines, which the industry estimated to be about N15 billion annually.
Onyema, quoting the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), said airlines contribute little to the cause of flight delays, but in Nigeria, beside weather, VIP movement and technicality (Aircraft on Ground (AOG), passengers’ behaviour is major cause of delays and cancelled flights because Nigerian travellers have not embraced the culture of rescheduling when flights are cancelled, a policy that follows international standards and recommended practices.
According to Onyema, the insistence of passengers whose flights are cancelled to be airlifted first the following day gives rise to disruption of flights, which snowballs into weeks of delays and cancellations.
Onyema explained that airlines schedule the number of flights that must be operated by each aircraft but when a previous flight is cancelled, passengers’ insistence that they must be airlifted first before the airline operates its normal schedule disrupts flight operations, adding that what passengers whose flight are cancelled must do is to reschedule their flights in accordance with the existing airline schedule.
In doing so, he said subsequent flights will not be disrupted while delays and cancellations will drastically minimise, even as he insisted that this is the system that is operated in other parts of the world, except in Nigeria.
He said, “Let me tell you why delays and cancellations will persist in this country. Number one, apart from safety, security, weather and other issues, there is unruly passenger behavior, a misunderstanding of how airlines’ scheduled operations are supposed to be run. This is major cause of flight delays.
“When weather is the cause of the delay or leads to cancellation at the end of the day, it is not the business of the airline to fly the passenger whose flight was cancelled first thing the next morning, no. All over the world, aviation is the same.
“The convention is, the passenger is expected to reschedule to the next available date. That is how it is done. In Nigeria, you want to fly, and you have three hours delay because of weather. And the time weather clears, you want to go in, and there is airport closure, because most of the airport don’t run at night. And the passenger will tell you, even though you put us in hotel, we will be the first ones to fly in the morning. It is not done like that, you reschedule to the next available date, because it is called scheduled flight operations.”
He said what happens is that in Nigeria, in the morning, those ones that could not fly the previous day will be the first you are going to fly and when you do this, you have disrupted the schedule of that morning.
“Each aircraft does about six to eight flights a day, so, it is not only one disruption. You are talking about massive eight flights disrupted for that day. I will give you an example. The other day we were flying into Warri, we could not land because of weather. The pilot hovered for about 15 minutes, but for safety he diverted to Enugu because Benin was also covered by bad weather. They stayed on ground in Enugu for about an hour or two, then the weather cleared. the aircraft was fueled. The weather cleared for them to take off to Warri but the Warri airport was closed because it is a sunset airport.
“The pilot announced the closure of the airport because it is a sunset airport and said that the flight would return to base, which is Abuja. With that announcement there was pandemonium everywhere, as the passengers started protesting against that decision. They brought the aircraft down and the captain was almost crying. They kept that aircraft on ground in Enugu for four hours. They said we should put them in a hotel in Enugu. Why should I put you in a hotel in Enugu? Did I create the weather? Did I create the airport? That was a force majeure,” Dr Onyema said.
The Air Peace chief also explained that the aircraft which was refused to take off from Enugu to Abuja was programmed to operate four other flights that included Kano and Port Harcourt, pointing out that passengers at the other airports waiting for the flight would not know that it was passengers that forced the aircraft not to take off.
“That extra five flights you will start first to bring in passengers of the previous day will disrupt 40 flights in today’s flight schedule. It goes on like that for the next two weeks because you can never recover. You will never be able to recover, given the situation that most of your airport closes by 6:00 pm. In fact, you can’t recover. It will only ease off after two weeks. God saves you if within those two weeks they don’t cause another problem for you, if that happens, it continues,” Onyema added.
The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has been summoned to the Nigerian Po,ice Force headquarters to face criminal investigation.
In a letter dated 4th April and signed by Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations, Olajide Rufus Ibitoye, said he was directed by the Inspector General of Police to invite the Emir for questioning for violating Durbar ban.
A copy of the letter sighted by CAPITAL POST indicated that Sanusi led a Durbar processing to the Government House to pay homage despite the ban which the Police expressed security concerns.
The urged Emir Sanusi Lamido to appear on Tuesday,b8th April, 2025.
Sanusi reportedly led a procession in car as against the usual horses in which a 20-year old in the entourage was arrested and detained.
Senate President, Godswill Obot Akpabio has accused Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Elisha Abbo of being united I coordinated attacks against him lately.
He stated this following Natasha’s claims during a rally in her Kogi Central Senatorial District that he recruited the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello to assassinate her outside Abuja.
At the rally on Tuesday 1st April, 2025 which was monitored by CAPITAL POST in Lokoja, Natasha accused the former Governor Yahaya Bello, having been contacted late in the night of March 12, 2025 to orchestrated ‘recall and assassination’ of her outside Abuja.
Natasha said she has intelligence reports that when she is killed in her Constituency, “it will look as if it’s her people that killed her.”
Though Bello was yet to issue a statement debunking the allgations or otherwise, Senate President on his part denied the allegation and described it as falsehood and inflammatory.
Reacting in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publici, Hon. Eseme Eyiboh on Friday, Akpabio accused former Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial, Elisha Abbo of toeing the similar part of blackmail, saying barely 24 hours later, on April 2, 2025, Elisha Abbo appeared on Arise Television to revive a previously withdrawn claim that Senator Akpabio “manipulated the judiciary” to secure his removal from the Senate.
The statement said: “Nigerians will recall that Mr. Abbo, in 2023, publicly retracted this same accusation and tendered an apology after acknowledging that his claims were founded on incorrect assumptions.
“His removal from office was the outcome of a constitutionally grounded judicial decision by the Court of Appeal, which independently determined that he was not duly elected to represent Adamawa North.
“In a further twist, Mr. Abbo also alleged that he was denied his entitlements by the Senate President. This, too, is categorically false. Entitlements such as salaries and allowances are processed strictly through administrative and legal procedures.
“The Senate President does not and cannot unilaterally approve or deny such requests. Any delays or rejections would have been based solely on due diligence and compliance with established protocols.
“The timing, tone, and striking similarity of these coordinated attacks point clearly to a politically motivated smear campaign. These individuals—backed by undisclosed interests—appear united in a desperate effort to undermine the credibility of the Senate and its leadership and intended to distract from their own personal and political shortcomings and failings.
“Senator Godswill Akpabio remains undeterred. As a statesman devoted to national unity, institutional integrity, and the rule of law, he will not be distracted by malicious falsehoods or inflammatory rhetoric.
“Regardless of the necessity for legal redress, formal letters of demand, seeking immediate public retractions, apologies, and compensation for reputational harm, are underway to be served on both Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Mr Elisha Abbo.
“We call on the Nigerian public in particular and the International Community to reject these baseless and provocative narratives. The Senate, under Senator Akpabio’s leadership, remains focused on its constitutional mandate: to promote legislative excellence, safeguard democratic values, and deliver meaningful progress for the Nigerian people”, the statement concluded.
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has expressed heartfelt sympathy over the demise of Hon. Suleiman Muhammed, the Kogi East Zonal Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a condolence message to the family of the deceased and members of the APC in Kogi state, described the sudden passing of the APC Zonal chairman as a loss not only for the party in Kogi East but the entire APC family in the state.
According to the Governor “The late Hon. Suleiman Muhammed was a man of peace, humility, and one who demonstrated commitment to the service of the state and the APC as a party. He carried the aspirations of his people with dignity; his leadership was widely respected and his contributions deeply valued within and beyond the APC in Kogi East”.
“He was instrumental in strengthening party cohesion and promoting inclusive dialogue. His presence in every party engagement brought stability and thoughtful leadership to our consultations in the zone.”
Governor Ododo further noted that Hon. Suleiman’s calm temperament, sense of fairness, and ability to listen distinguished him as a unifying figure in the party.
The Governor also extends condolences to the family of the deceased, the leadership and members of the APC in the state, the people of Dekina local government area and the entire Kogi East Senatorial District.
He prayed that Almighty Allah (SWT) forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljanatul Firdaus.
The late APC zonal chairman who served as the APC coordinator in Odu Ward 2 before becoming the zonal chairman of the party in Kogi East died at the age of 45 and has been laid to rest according to Islamic rites.
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