FCCPC summons Air Peace over flight cancellations, unprocessed refunds

FCCPC summons Air Peace over flight cancellations, unprocessed refunds

By Jeffrey Agbo

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has summoned Air Peace Limited following a wave of passenger complaints over unprocessed ticket refunds, even in instances where the airline cancelled flights.

In a formal notice dated June 3, 2025, the commission directed the airline’s management to appear at its headquarters in Abuja on Monday, June 23, 2025. The summons comes amid growing public concern and allegations of consumer rights violations.

The commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Ondaje Ijagwu, disclosed the development in a statement issued Monday in Abuja.

According to Ijagwu, the airline’s conduct may have breached Sections 130(1)(a) and (b), and 130(2)(b) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, which guarantees passengers the right to timely refunds when a service provider fails to honour bookings.

He stated that Air Peace has been asked to submit detailed documentation, including a complaint log of refund-related issues over the past year, all records of processed refunds, a full list of cancelled flights across all routes, and evidence of efforts made to cushion the impact on 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 a 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 not directly addressed in the Commission’s statement, the summons follows a recent public spat involving Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Air Peace personnel.

The dispute reportedly began after the senator missed a flight and accused airline officials of extortion and preferential treatment. According to Oshiomhole, he and other passengers were sidelined while staff allegedly boarded travellers who arrived later—some of whom were reportedly asked to pay an extra N109,100 to be rescheduled on an 8:30 am flight.

Oshiomhole claimed that between 20 and 30 passengers faced the same situation, sparking outrage among travellers and renewing scrutiny over the airline’s customer service practices.