By Isaac Tersoo Agber
Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has warned airlines operating in the country against taking advantage of the heavy traffic during the Easter period to exploit travelers through arbitrary increase in ticket sales.
Sirika said the warning was necessary as some of the airlines are in the habit of taking undue advantage of festive periods to enrich their purses at the expense of travelers. According to the Minister, rather than cause problems for the travelling public, the airlines should devise better means of improving their services in terms of customer comfort, safe and timely flights, more effective information dissemination and network expansion.
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He also assured Nigerians of the preparedness of all aviation Agencies to ensure safety and security of passengers during the period and beyond. According to him, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, in conjunction with the Nigeria Police has deployed sniffer dogs at the airports to complement the regular aviation security set-up.
The minister directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to closely monitor the activities of the airlines to ensure strict compliance with all operational rules and guidelines in order to protect travelers against operational misconducts.
He congratulated the Christians on the successful completion of the Lent and charged them to use the period to pray for the Buhari Administration as it strives to effect the much desired changes that would ensure better living standards for Nigerians.