The issue took centre stage at the Aviation Day of the 22nd Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos, where industry stakeholders examined the rights of passengers and the responsibilities of airlines amid growing concerns over flight disruptions.
The session, themed “Delayed and Cancelled Flights: The Rules and the Rights of Passengers — The Airline Perspective,” brought together representatives of airlines, airport operators and other aviation stakeholders to examine the causes of delays and the extent to which airlines should be held responsible.
The discussion came two days after the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) released its August 2026 flight report, which showed that delays accounted for a significant proportion of domestic flight operations during the month.
According to the NCAA report, 4,765 of the 7,961 domestic flights operated by Nigerian airlines in August were delayed. The figure represents about 60 per cent of total domestic operations.
The report also recorded 36 cancellations during the month, representing less than one per cent of total domestic flights.
Of the delayed flights, 2,801 were delayed by between 16 minutes and one hour, while 1,322 experienced delays of between one and two hours. Another 407 flights were delayed for between two and three hours, while 235 suffered delays lasting three hours or more.
The figures have intensified the debate over the causes of persistent flight disruptions and whether responsibility should rest primarily with airlines or be shared across the aviation ecosystem.
Speaking during the panel session, the Chief Commercial Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Adedayo Olawuyi, argued that delays should not automatically be attributed to airlines, saying disruptions were often the result of several interconnected factors.
Olawuyi identified airport congestion as one of the most significant challenges, particularly during peak operating periods.
He compared the situation to living in a five-bedroom apartment with only one parking space, where residents must constantly move vehicles around to allow others to leave.
According to him, aircraft can be ready for departure but remain unable to push back because of congestion on the airport ramp.
He explained that an aircraft scheduled to push back at 6:59 a.m. could remain stationary until 7:38 a.m. because of congestion, creating a delay of almost 40 minutes before the aircraft had even commenced its journey.
“Airlines don’t want to intentionally delay flights but the challenges we face are what brings about these delays,” he said.
Olawuyi also identified technical issues as another major cause of disruption, stressing that passenger safety must take precedence whenever an aircraft develops a mechanical or technical fault.
He said aircraft, like automobiles, could experience unexpected mechanical problems, but aviation regulations require aircraft with technical faults to undergo the necessary maintenance and safety checks before they can return to service.
Weather conditions, he added, could create additional complications, particularly at airports where infrastructure for night operations is limited.
Olawuyi cited the experience of a flight from Lagos to Kano that was scheduled to depart at 8 p.m. but was delayed by adverse weather conditions at the destination airport.
The aircraft eventually departed at about 10:30 p.m., but encountered a thunderstorm as it approached Kano.
According to him, the storm affected the runway lighting system, making it impossible for the aircraft to land safely.
The aircraft consequently returned to Lagos and landed at about 1 a.m., after which passengers had to disembark.
“That’s not the fault of the airline,” he said.
He explained that such situations were made worse by the limited operating hours of some Nigerian airports, many of which lack the infrastructure required to support full night operations.
As a result, a delay caused by weather, congestion or another external factor can ultimately become a cancellation if the aircraft can no longer operate within the airport’s permitted operating hours.
Olawuyi also questioned the manner in which the NCAA presented its August flight disruption figures, arguing that the statistics should differentiate between delays that airlines can control and those caused by external circumstances.
“I will use an analogy. You go to school and 60 per cent of the students fail, is that the fault of the school?” he asked.
He argued that a high overall delay figure could only be used to directly assess airline performance after delays caused by factors outside the carriers’ control had been separated.
“When you remove the controllable delays and you have a high number of 60 per cent, then you can say the problem is the airlines,” he said.
Olawuyi urged regulators, airlines, airports and other stakeholders to approach the problem as an industry-wide challenge rather than one that could be resolved by placing responsibility solely on airlines.
“The question about the reason for the delays should not be directed to the airlines. The question should be directed to all stakeholders,” he said.
The position was supported by the Chief Commercial Officer of ValueJet, Trevor Henry, who also identified a number of factors that can disrupt flight schedules.
Henry listed presidential movements, adverse weather, congestion at check-in points, security screening at boarding lounges and congestion at boarding gates among the issues that can affect on-time departures.
He noted that congestion could persist even after passengers had boarded an aircraft, particularly when several aircraft were simultaneously attempting to taxi towards the runway during peak morning periods.
“OTP (On-Time-Performance) is not what airline takes lightly. A lot of works go into this,” Henry said.
The comments highlight the complex chain of operations involved in getting an aircraft from its parking position to the runway and eventually into the air.
While airlines are responsible for aircraft readiness, crew availability and several operational decisions, airport infrastructure, air traffic management, weather conditions, security procedures and other external events can also affect schedules.
The Chief Operating Officer of Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2, Remi Jibodu, meanwhile, proposed greater coordination among airlines and airport operators as part of efforts to address congestion.
Jibodu said the concentration of passengers and aircraft movements during early-morning periods was placing considerable pressure on airport facilities.
He noted that more than 10 airlines could have flights scheduled around 7 a.m., creating a situation in which passengers, aircraft and airport facilities are simultaneously placed under intense pressure.
According to him, airlines and airport operators should explore a coordinated system for managing departure times.
“What we can do at that point in time is to have a coordinated system,” Jibodu said.
Rather than having several airlines schedule large numbers of departures within the same narrow window, he suggested spreading flight movements more evenly across available operating periods.
He acknowledged that introducing a comprehensive slot system might not be immediately necessary but said a coordinated scheduling arrangement could help ease pressure on airport facilities.
“The truth is that at this point, we have to look at the slot system to see how we can coordinate it,” he said.
The debate underscores the growing need for clearer attribution of responsibility whenever flights are delayed or cancelled.
For passengers, the immediate concern remains the disruption of travel plans, missed connections and uncertainty over compensation or alternative arrangements. For airlines and airport operators, however, the industry-wide discussion points to a broader operational challenge involving infrastructure, scheduling, weather, security, airport capacity and technical requirements.
The stakeholders at the Lagos aviation forum therefore called for greater coordination among airlines, airports, regulators and other agencies, arguing that addressing the causes of delays would require measures extending beyond the individual carrier.