By Sade Williams
As parts of efforts to promptly address sundry complaints by consumers within the aviation sector, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it has completed the automation of consumer protection processes.
This is just as the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection department of the Authority, Mr. Michael Achimugu disclosed that the department has recorded the highest percentage of refunds and compensations in the history of the Authority.
The automation will allow passengers to log complaints, track the on-time performance of airlines, and access self-reported data on the resolution of cases, making airline performance data publicly accessible and transparent .
“We have now completed the automation of consumer protection processes that will solve a plethora of issues such as Complaints report; Data collation and processing; airline performance reportage; transparency; timely complaints resolutions and Ease of doing business.
He also said the NCAA has advanced in the deployment of Regulatory Safety Oversight Software (EMPIC), a robust Regulatory Software system, which elite Civil Aviation bodies worldwide are implementing to automate safety and regulatory programmes.
“In addition to this, our Consumer Protection Officers (CPOs) who are now being accorded more respect by airline staff and passengers will become more recognisable and effective with their brand-new outfits which will be launched along with the portal very shortly.”
Achimugu, who also disclosed that the accident investigation laboratory has just been completed, said the Director General, Capt. Chris Najomo believes that continuity in aspects that elevate the capacity of the Authority must be upheld.
Speaking on staff welfare and motivation, he said: Disenchanted staff of the NCAA have now become more motivated since the Authority cleared the backlog of housing arrears owed them, a situation that transformed many of them into covert anti-authority agents in the past.
“Long stagnated staff, especially within the Directorate of Air Transport Regulation (DATR) have now been promoted by the acting DG, with the authorisation of the Honourable Minister of Aviation. Capt. Najomo has been making sure that critical personnel are properly equipped to perform optimally. I know this because my directorate was one of the most affected, These were some of the issues left for this leadership to begin to solve from the root.”, he added.
