NCAA slams N3m fine on Kenya Airways over alleged maltreatment of Nigerian passengers

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has sanctioned Kenya Airways with a N3m fine among other measures over the alleged maltreatment of Nigerian passengers.

The NCAA gave the airline a seven-day ultimatum to refund and compensate the affected passengers.

The NCAA spokesman, Michael Achimugu, disclosed the N3m fine on Thursday after a brief note about the development on his X account the preceding day.

Prominent among the maltreatment allegations was that of a Nigerian passenger, Ms Gloria Omisore, who in January had mistakenly boarded Kenya Airways in Lagos with an agreement with the airline to take her to the United Kingdom through connecting flights arranged via France. But this was despite lacking a France transit visa.

She then endured a 17-hour layover in Nairobi and when she requested care due to her medical condition, she was reportedly met with poor treatment. Video footage showed airline staff verbally confronting and insulting her.

In the footage, Omisore expressed frustration over the airline’s alleged mistreatment of Nigerian travellers, including herself.

The other accusation against the airline was Kenya Airways’ management’s refusal to apologise to Omisore, who was reportedly maltreated by the airline staff in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

In February, NCAA summoned Kenya Airways to its headquarters in Abuja over a social media video showing a heated exchange between Omisore and a Kenya Airways’ agent at the airline’s transfer desk in Nairobi to which Kenya Airways admitted fault.

Following the altercation, the authority announced a decision to sanction the airline.

Achimugu said a sanction letter had been issued to the airline.

“Today, May 7, 2025, the NCAA has sent a letter of sanction to the operator, Kenya Airways, over the cases of Gloria Omisore and two other passengers.

“The penalties are for consumer protection-related infractions, including right to care, failure to provide full disclosure of terms of carriage, failure to respond to the Authority’s request, failure to process refund and compensation, and lost baggage.

“In addition to the fine in line with the NCAA Regulations 2023, the airline has seven days to pay the refunds and compensation of 1,000 special drawing rights to the affected passengers,” he said.

Achimugu said the airline would face stiffer penalties if it fails to comply with the directive.