Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines challenge NCAA disruption figures

Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines have challenged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s August flight-disruption figures, arguing that the regulator’s presentation does not adequately distinguish delays caused by airlines from those arising outside their control.

Air Peace is also disputing the number of flights attributed to it. The airline says it operated 2,564 flights in August 2026, rather than the 1,864 listed in the NCAA summary.

The regulator’s figures, as reported by Vanguard, put domestic flight disruptions at 4,801 out of 7,961 operated flights. Air Peace accounted for 1,337 delayed or cancelled flights, while United Nigeria Airlines recorded 951 disruptions out of 1,231 flights.

Channels TV reported a delay-only figure of 1,330 for Air Peace. That figure covers delayed flights, rather than Vanguard’s combined total for delays and cancellations.

Air Peace disputes flight count and causes

Air Peace’s Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide, said the lower flight total in the NCAA report distorted the airline’s performance figures. She called for a review of the regulator’s data-collection methods and for future reports to identify the causes of disruptions.

The airline said its internal review attributed delays affecting 391 flights to internal factors, including technical problems requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related issues. It attributed the remaining delays to external factors, including airport congestion, bird strikes, equipment failures at airports, adverse weather, union picketing and damage caused by ground handlers.

Olajide also said disruption linked to union action on August 11 affected operations for more than 14 days, leading to rescheduling, delays and cancellations. These explanations are the airline’s account, not findings independently established by the regulator.

United Nigeria calls for wider scrutiny

United Nigeria Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer, Adedayo Olawuyi, said the figures should separate controllable and uncontrollable delays before responsibility is assigned. He spoke at the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos.

Olawuyi pointed to congestion that can prevent aircraft from moving on the ramp, technical faults requiring repairs before a flight can safely depart, and weather-related disruption. He also said limited night operations at some airports could turn delays into cancellations when flights could no longer arrive within operating hours.

His argument was that scrutiny should extend to airports, regulators and other aviation operators, rather than treating every disrupted flight as solely an airline failure.

Sources: Vanguard, Channels TV