NCAA summons overland over exploitation

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has summoned Overland Airline over alleged exploitation of customers with costly flight tickets.

Director of Consumer Protection for the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, disclosed this in a statement posted on his verified X handle, saying the agency had a meeting with the airline.

Achimugu said the airline’s argument is that tax in aviation is charged on tickets flown and not when the ticket is purchased, claiming that it has a standing agreement with the tax body.

He stated that given the agency’s determination, Overland has been mandated to facilitate a refund to all passengers affected by the situation if the National Revenue Service, NRS, clarifies otherwise.

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According to him, the airline’s fear is that it would be forced to pay a backlog of taxes if the NRS maintains that tickets purchased before 2026 but flown in 2026 must be charged.

He added that Overland will subsequently present to the NCAA within 10 days the response from the NRS to the airline in this regard.

It was recalled that customers of Overland Airways had labelled its flight ticket pricing as outrageous and exploitative, especially along the Lagos-Abuja-Ilorin route.

The customers had complained that the ticket prices were arbitrary and did not match up with the prices of other airlines.

Achimugu’s statement read, “We summoned the airline, Overland, yesterday. We have heard their side of things. Our determination was that Overland pushes to, within 10 days, get clarification from the tax body about retrospective taxation and if it applies to tickets bought before 2026.

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“The NCAA’s position is that any such agreement between the airline and anybody in the past is overtaken by the new events, unless stated otherwise by the NRS.

“Our Director, Air Transport Regulations did confirm from Mr. Taiwo Oyedele that the tax should not apply to tickets purchased before 2026, but this needs further clarification from the NRS.”