Passengers who were stranded in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania over the weekend are now expected to depart for Nigeria following a swift intervention by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The travellers had been left grounded after Air Tanzania failed to operate its scheduled flight to Nigeria.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr. Michael Achimugu, the authority acted immediately after receiving reports of the flight disruption, invoking consumer-protection regulations to ensure passengers received proper assistance.
Achimugu confirmed that all affected travellers were provided hotel accommodation, meals, and necessary updates, in line with Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023, which mandates airlines to care for passengers during long delays or operational failures.
He added that Air Tanzania has now committed to flying the stranded passengers to Nigeria today, despite the airline not typically operating flights to the country on weekends.
“We will keep monitoring the situation until the passengers arrive safely,” he said.
Public Applauds NCAA’s Swift Action
The NCAA’s rapid response drew praise from members of the public. One X user, identified as Barkindo, thanked the authority for stepping in decisively:
“Your swift intervention reflects the NCAA’s renewed commitment to timely and effective consumer protection. Thank you for ensuring passengers receive the care they’re entitled to. History will be kind to you for the standard you are setting today.”
Achimugu attributed the improved responsiveness to new leadership directives guiding the aviation sector.
“The standard was set by our bosses,” he noted. “Mr President gave a mandate to the Honourable Minister, Festus Keyamo, and he signed a performance bond with our DGCA, Chris Najomo. It is that mandate that we are all striving to achieve.”
NCAA Faults Lack of Weekend Operations
Some of the stranded passengers had pressing obligations, including one who was scheduled for a visa interview on Monday. Achimugu stressed that if Air Tanzania could not operate flights on weekends, it should have issued refunds or rebooked passengers on alternative carriers to prevent undue hardship.
He reaffirmed that the incident is being handled strictly in accordance with aviation consumer-rights standards and that the NCAA will supervise the process until all passengers are transported safely to Nigeria.
The situation is expected to be fully resolved today as Air Tanzania begins moving passengers who have been waiting since the weekend.
