Adedayo Olawuyi

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Nigeria’s airline operators have attributed the majority of flight delays and cancellations to airport congestion, inadequate infrastructure, and bad weather

Speaking during the Aviation Day of the 23rd Akwaaba African Travel Market held on Tuesday in Lagos, with theme: Delayed and Cancelled Flights: The Rules and the Rights of Passengers ” The Airline Perspective”, the Chief Commercial Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Adedayo Olawuyi, who was one of the panelists, said many factors contributing to delays are beyond airline control.

“There are many reasons that lead to cancellations and delays of flights in Nigeria’s aviation sector. I would first like to speak about the infrastructure that we have. I don’t know how many of you have ever lived in a five-bedroom apartment where there is only one car park? You know, before you go out in the morning, they need to call you to come and move your car. Sometimes that’s what we face because of congestion at the airport.”

” So, if you get to the ramp early in the morning, there are times when the aircraft is blocked from moving simply because there are many operators operating today. A flight that pushes back at 6:59 a.m. eventually takes off at 7:38 a.m. The flight was supposed to arrive in Abuja by 8 a.m., but there’s already a 40-minute delay that the airline knows nothing about. Now, we are not saying delays will continue or that we intentionally want to delay flights. Airlines don’t want to intentionally delay flights but the challenges we face are what brings about these delays.

“Secondly, we operate machines. Have you ever woken up, and your car did not start? Sometimes we have technical challenges. When these technical challenges occur, we must maintain the safety of that flight and ensure that everything is properly done and that the aircraft is fixed before it is released into service. “

“Then there are weather issues. The point I’m making is that there are many reasons why flights are delayed. Now, there are aspects within the control of the airline, for which we do take responsibility, but many aspects are beyond the control of the airlines.  I’ll give you a real-life example. Recently, we had a flight departing at 8 p.m. from Lagos to Kano. The weather was bad in Kano and they couldn’t depart. Eventually, the flight departed at approximately 10:30 p.m.”

“The flight flew all the way to Kano but just before the aircraft was about to land, there was a thunderstorm that disabled the runway’s lighting system, meaning the flight could not land. The aircraft had to turn back and come all the way to Lagos, landing at 1 a.m. Passengers were required to disembark. That’s not the fault of the airline.”

“In Nigeria today, the bulk of the airports we operate in are dusk-to-dawn operations, meaning they do not even have lighting and cannot operate at night. So, when you have delays from every other reason that extend into the night, sometimes we are forced to cancel.”

Reacting to the data released by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) showing over 60 percent delays in domestic flights in August 2026, Adedayo said: “I will use an analogy. You go to school and 60% of the students fail, is that the fault of the school? Yes or no? My point is very simple. The first problem we have with that data, personally speaking, is that the data was not presented in a way where we have removed controllable delays and uncontrollable delays.

“When you remove the controllable delays and you have a high number of 60%, then you can say the problem is the airlines. The question about the reason for the delays should not be directed to the airlines. The question should be directed to all stakeholders. Airports, regulators, everybody in the ecosystem shouldn’t ignore that 60%. ”

He also spoke on care for passengers, saying: ” Passengers should know that their rights protect them. If your flight is delayed up to two hours, you should receive refreshments.

If the delay extends up to four hours, you should receive a full meal. If you have extended delays of up to six hours, you should receive compensation as well

“As an airline, we also have expectations of the passengers. We expect you to be on time for your flight. We expect you to check your messages when there are delays, so you are aware of what is happening with your flight. If you have the opportunity, like you do, you can check in online before you get to the airport. And when there are challenges, we expect you to remain calm.”

“When your flight is cancelled, there are times when the airline is mandated to provide accommodation. If your flight is cancelled after 10 p.m., the airline should provide accommodation and transportation. However, the airline must be able to prove that the cancellation was entirely its fault. If it’s a situation that was not the airline’s fault, then the airline will not provide accommodation. But out of duty of care, if you are based in Lagos and have a flight out of Lagos, and your flight is cancelled, we tell you that you can go back home, and we give you an alternative flight.”

The Chief Commercial Officer of ValueJet, Trevor Henry, who was also a panelist at the event, agreed with Mr. Olawuyi, saying: “Delays and cancellations are usually caused by issues like presidential movements, weather, airport congestion at check-in, congestion at the boarding lounge due to security checks, and congestion at the boarding gate. When the aircraft taxes to the runway, especially in the morning, there can also be congestion from the taxiway to the runway before takeoff.”

The Chief Operating Officer of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (2), Remi Jibodu, who was one of the panelists, proposed having a slot system to tackle airport congestion. He said many things contribute to delay and cancellation citing the thousands of passengers who come to the airport to board flights at 7 o’clock in the morning.

He said there are instances where more than 10 airlines have 7 o’clock flight and with that, it is almost impossible not to have a delay in the morning.

“What we can do at that point in time is to have a coordinated system, which means that we have to collaborate with the airlines to say instead of having everybody going out at 7 o’clock, can we stagger it a little bit?

“The truth is  that at this point, we have to look at the slot system to see how

we can coordinate it. It may not be a full slot system, but we must be able to give a little bit of concession to that,” he said.