The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, personally intervened late on Thursday night to assist passengers left stranded by a cancelled Max Air flight from Abuja to Kano.
The Max Air flight, originally scheduled to depart Abuja at 5:15 p.m. on October 2, 2026, was rescheduled multiple times before being cancelled until 7 a.m. the following morning.
Passengers initially received no apology or contingency arrangements and were simply instructed to leave the airport and return the next day.
One affected passenger, Engr. Muntari Lawal, publicly complained on X that the Max Air station manager claimed he could not assist because he had yet to reach the airline’s management.
Responding promptly, Achimugu stated that he had spoken with the station manager, who agreed to provide buses to transport affected passengers to a hotel. He noted that the cancellation did not qualify as force majeure and that passengers were entitled to the airline’s duty of care under aviation regulations.
Later that night, Achimugu travelled to the airport in person at about 11 p.m. to oversee the arrangements. In a post on X, he confirmed: “I had to come over in person, at 11pm, to attend to this….we have ensured that all of the passengers who stayed behind, including an infant travelling with the father alone, have been driven to the hotel. At dawn, the bus will return the passengers to the airport for their flight. By this, the airline has also performed its duty of care. This complaint is now resolved and closed.”
The intervention drew appreciation from passengers and observers on social media, with some praising the NCAA official’s hands-on approach to consumer protection.
Achimugu has built a reputation for actively engaging with passenger complaints on social media platforms, often following up until issues are resolved.
The incident highlights ongoing challenges with flight disruptions in Nigeria’s domestic aviation sector and the regulator’s role in enforcing passenger rights under the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations 2023.
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