FCCPC summons Air Peace over widespread ticket refund complaints

FCCPC summons Air Peace over widespread ticket refund complaints

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has summoned the management of Air Peace Limited over multiple complaints of non-refund of ticket fares by passengers, even in cases where the airline cancelled its scheduled flights.

In a formal notice dated June 13, 2025, the Commission ordered the airline to appear before it at its Abuja headquarters on Monday, June 23, 2025, to address the growing public outcry and allegations of consumer rights violations.

A statement by the Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, disclosed the directive on Monday in Abuja.

Ijagwu said the airline actions violate Sections 130(1)(a) and (b), and 130(2)(b) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, which guarantee consumers the right to prompt refunds when bookings or reservations are not honoured due to a service provider’s failure.

He said the summons is issued pursuant to Sections 32 and 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, mandating Air Peace to provide specific documentary evidence.

These include a complaint log of refund-related issues over the last 12 months, records of all processed refunds to date, a list of all cancelled flights on all routes within the same period, and measures taken to alleviate hardship caused to affected passengers.

The statement read, “The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has summoned the management of Air Peace Limited over a deluge of consumer complaints from across the country relating to the non-refund of ticket fares, even in instances where the airline had cancelled its flight operations.

“These actions potentially contravene Sections 130(1)(a) and (b), and 130(2)(b) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, which expressly guarantee consumers the right to timely refunds where advance bookings, reservations, or orders are unfulfilled due to service-provider’s failure. This provision enshrines the principle of fair dealing and safeguards consumers against unfair, unjust, or unreasonable practices by service providers.

“In a formal summons dated June 13, 2025, the Commission, invoking Sections 32 and 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, requires Air Peace to appear before the Commission at its Abuja Headquarters on Monday, June 23, 2025.

“Specifically, Section 33(3) of the FCCPA mandates compliance and failure attracts severe sanctions including fines or imprisonment.”

Although the statement didn’t mention, the summons comes days after Senator Adams Oshiomhole and officials of Air Peace engaged in a disagreement over the alleged extortion of Nigerian passengers.

The situation escalated when the senator was said to have missed a flight, which Oshiomhole claimed was a result of racketeering activities by airline officials.

While Air Peace claimed that Oshiomhole arrived at the airport late, the senator said he, along with a crowd of other angry passengers, saw airline staff clearing passengers who arrived later.

Oshiomhole said about 20 to 30 other passengers faced the same treatment, with airline staff demanding an additional N109,100 to reschedule them to an 8:30 am flight.