African airlines have been urged to have in place clearer and more consistent air passenger rights by imposing certain minimum airline requirements in air travel.
Speaking during a consumer protection capacity building for Eastern Africa region and COMESA member states held at Golden Tulip Hotel in Kampala organized by the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC ), Uganda Civil Aviation Authority(UCAA) Director General, Fred Bamwesigye said there is no other way out , other than ensuring protection of consumers.
“You find an airline delays passengers and it says it is because of reasons beyond their control. What defines those technical reasons beyond your control? You cite technical reasons beyond your control but as a passenger, I have missed my flight and I am not attending a conference in Adid Ababa which was scheduled and I am also missing out on my other programs because of technical issues of the airline,” Bamwesigye said.
“It is high time we defined what constitutes technical reasons and extra ordinary circumstances or situations beyond the control of anybody so that passengers are not necessarily disadvantaged."
The UCAA boss said public awareness is key for air transport consumers to enable them make informed decisions.
“This includes providing information and clear guidelines on legal documents applicable under specific situations.”
The Principal Civil Aviation Officer at the EAC Secretariat, Paul Christian Rwegasha said consumer protection in air transport is meant to safeguard consumers of the services against unfair practices in the market place
“Consumer rights are often established by law to prevent providers of air transport services from engaging in fraud or unfair practice to gain advantage over consumers. In order to ensure air passengers, make informed choices, consumer education efforts should be considered by airlines and all other stakeholders in air transport sector,” Rwegasha said.
“The overall objective should be to protect consumers from unfair trade practices to ensure the availability of accurate information to provide quick and accessible remedies to promote consumer awareness.”
He said it is high time airlines and other stakeholders help air passengers make informed decisions and increase awareness while traveling.
Emmanuel Butera, a consumer protection specialist at the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) said the training is meant to build capacity for officers in charge of consumer protection from the various countries and aviation regulators.
He said during the training, the various consumer protection focal persons will share experiences amongst themselves to be able to copy from the best practices and get recommendations.
According to officials, the training is meant to review consumer protection-related air transport laws, rules, regulations, and policies necessary for inclusion into the national laws for implementation and operationalization.
It will also help operationalize air passenger protection regulations and apply them in day-to-day operations but also create a framework for sharing consumer protection incidents between member states and between member states and regional economic communities through the focal points.