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By Daniel Adaji
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has summoned Air Peace Limited over a flood of complaints alleging the airline failed to refund passengers for cancelled flights.
In a statement shared with Pointblanknews.com on Monday, Ondaje Ijagwu, Director of Corporate Affairs, said, “The Commission has received 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.”
The FCCPC warned that Air Peace’s actions may violate Sections 130(1)(a), 130(1)(b), and 130(2)(b) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018, which guarantees the right to timely refunds when service providers fail to deliver prepaid services.
These sections, the Commission said, “enshrine the principle of fair dealing and safeguard consumers against unfair, unjust, or unreasonable practices.”
Citing Sections 32 and 33 of the Act, the FCCPC issued a formal summons to Air Peace dated June 13, 2025. The airline is expected to appear before the Commission at its Abuja headquarters on Monday, June 23.
Specifically, Section 33(3) of the FCCPA mandates full compliance with such summons, warning that failure to do so attracts “severe sanctions including fines or imprisonment.”
To aid its investigation, the Commission directed Air Peace to submit key documents: A complaint log for refund requests over the past 12 months; complete records of processed refunds to date; a list of all cancelled flights across its domestic and international routes in the last year as well as evidence of remedial steps taken to reduce hardship for affected passengers.
This refund probe comes months after a separate inquiry launched in December 2024, in which the FCCPC accused the airline of “exploitative ticket pricing,” particularly sharp fare increases for advance bookings on domestic routes. Air Peace responded to that probe by filing a lawsuit aimed at stopping the Commission from continuing its investigation.
However, the FCCPC clarified that “this is an entirely different matter.”
Reaffirming its commitment, the Commission stated, “We remain committed to enforcing the FCCPA and holding service providers accountable. Consumers, including airline passengers, must be protected from exploitative or unfair market practices.”