United Nigeria Airlines Attributes Flight Delays To Congestion, Poor infrastructure, Bad Weather

“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,” he said.

On the data released by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) showing over 60 per cent 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 per cent. “

On passengers, he said, ” 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 will give you an alternative flight.”

Also speaking, the Chief Commercial Officer of ValueJet, Trevor Henry, who was also a panelist at the event, agreed with re-echoed Olawuyi’s position that, “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.”

On his part, the he Chief Operating Officer(COO), Murtala Muhammed Airport (2), Remi Jibodu, who was one of the panelists, proposed the introduction of a slot system to tackle airport congestion.

He said many things contribute to delay and cancellation citing the thousands of passengers who according to him 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.

According to him, “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?

He continued, “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 pointed out that terminal operators, airlines, ground handlers and the regulator can work together to r

esolve the issue of delays