NCAA Warns Royal Air Maroc of Fresh Sanctions Over Passenger Treatment and Repeated Snubs

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is preparing to sanction Royal Air Maroc after what it describes as months of unresolved baggage complaints, delayed compensation, and open disregard for the regulator’s authority.

NCAA spokesman Michael Achimugu said on Thursday that the airline had become a repeat offender, failing to improve its treatment of Nigerian passengers despite being fined for consumer protection violations in 2025. That sanction, the first of its kind against the carrier, was meant to force change. Instead, Achimugu said, the problems have persisted and, in some respects, worsened.

Baggage remains the most frequent source of friction. On multiple occasions this year alone, passengers arriving at Murtala Muhammed International Airport discovered that checked-in luggage had been short-landed in Casablanca. Affected travellers told the NCAA they received no timely notification from the airline, no overnight kits, and no clear timeline for when their bags would arrive. In several cases, compensation claims filed weeks ago have not been paid. The regulator says it has had to step in each time to push the airline to act.

Achimugu pointed to a pattern where Royal Air Maroc only addresses complaints after the NCAA intervenes and applies “significant pressure.” He added that even invitations to resolve disputes are treated with what he called “unacceptable insolence.”

The tensions came to a head recently when the NCAA summoned the airline to a meeting in Abuja to clear a backlog of open cases. According to Achimugu, country manager Ahmed Boussouf declined to travel from Lagos, sending instead representatives who had no authority to make decisions or approve payouts. When the regulator insisted on speaking directly to Boussouf by phone, he reportedly told officials, “Whatever you want to do, do,” and ended the call.

“While our job may be thankless and exhausting, the NCAA, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Minister Festus Keyamo, and the DGCA, Capt. Chris Najomo, will never be diminished to such a level of brazen disregard and non-compliance,” Achimugu said.

The NCAA has not specified what new sanctions are under consideration, but the regulator has the power to impose fines, restrict flight operations, or suspend an airline’s permit if it deems compliance has broken down.