EDITORIAL:
Ibom Air and the Rescheduling question:
Beyond the blame game
There is no doubt that Ibom Air is one of the success stories Akwa Ibom can proudly point to. What began as an ambitious regional airline has grown into a respected domestic carrier, expanding its routes, acquiring modern aircraft and connecting thousands of Nigerians to different destinations. The reported expansion of its fleet to 10 aircraft, seven CRJ900 regional jets and three Airbus A220-300s, is a significant milestone. But as the airline grows, so do expectations.
For the passenger who leaves home early, pays for a ticket and arrives at the airport with a business appointment, family engagement, examination, wedding or funeral to attend, a delayed or rescheduled flight is not just an entry in an airline’s operational report. It is a disruption to somebody’s life. This is why the increasing complaints over delays and rescheduling deserve to be taken seriously, without automatically turning them into an accusation against Ibom Air.
Airline operations are complicated, and passengers must also understand that not every delay is caused by poor management. Weather, air-traffic restrictions, airport infrastructure, technical problems, routine maintenance and other circumstances can affect flight schedules.
Sometimes, a pilot or engineer may have to make a decision that frustrates passengers but protects their lives. No responsible airline should put an aircraft in the air simply because passengers are angry about a delay.
Ibom Air’s own operational figures have shown that disruptions occur. Its December 2024 scorecard recorded 27 rescheduled flights and 259 delayed departures, while its February 2026 figures showed 131 rescheduled flights and 119 scheduled flights that were not operated. These figures do not, by themselves, prove wrongdoing.
But they tell us that the issue is real and deserves attention.
What passengers need is not necessarily someone to blame, but an explanation they can understand. If weather caused the disruption, say so. If air-traffic restrictions were responsible, explain it. If an aircraft was withdrawn for safety or maintenance, let the passenger know. Transparency is not an admission of failure; sometimes, it is the best way to earn trust.
The recent expansion of Ibom Air’s fleet also raises another important question. Having 10 aircraft in a fleet does not necessarily mean that all 10 are available for passenger operations every day. Aircraft, like every machine, require maintenance, inspections and servicing.
The more important question, therefore, is not simply how many aircraft Ibom Air owns or has in its fleet, but how many are actually serviceable and available when the travelling public needs them. The whole purpose of fleet expansion should be to increase capacity and give the airline greater flexibility when one aircraft becomes unavailable. Naturally, passengers will expect that as the fleet grows, reliability will improve. They will ask: if we now have more aircraft, why are we still experiencing repeated disruptions? That is a fair question, and it should be answered with facts rather than defensiveness. Ibom Air has built a strong reputation, and protecting that reputation requires listening to the people who use its services every day.
For the ordinary passenger, the pain of rescheduling can be very real. Imagine a father travelling across the country to attend his daughter’s wedding, only to be told that his flight has been moved. Imagine a businesswoman who has spent months preparing for an important meeting, only to miss it because of an unexpected delay. Imagine someone travelling for a funeral who arrives after the burial. These are not mere statistics; they are human experiences.
This is why passengers deserve more than an apology when things go wrong. They deserve timely information, courteous treatment and, where possible, practical alternatives for rebooking. But passengers must also appreciate that aviation is fundamentally about safety. Efforts the the state government should be complimented by providing good services passengers of Ibom Air, note, a delayed flight is frustrating; an unsafe flight
SOURCE: TheSpokesmanNewspaper
