By Dickson Omobola
Chike Wilson (not his real name) had just arrived at the boarding gate of the domestic terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja when security officials stopped him from carrying a liquid substance onto the aircraft.
As officials attempted to explain that the restriction was part of standard aviation safety procedures, he became angry. He shouted, hurled insults at airport personnel and disrupted boarding procedures, leaving other passengers delayed and frustrated.
Across the world, such unruly conduct has become a concern at airports, and Nigeria is not different. Last year, Nigeria recorded many such incidents, some involving high profile individuals.
For instance, in June 2025, a row broke out at the domestic wing of the Airport Terminal 1 in Lagos between Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Air Peace airline officials who alleged that the Senator arrived after the boarding process had ended, and the plane departed.
Therefore, Oshiomohole was alleged to have barricaded the terminal, thereby disrupting flight operations.
Likewise, in August 2025, renowned Fuji musician, Ayinde Marshal, better known as KWAM 1, was involved in a disruptive incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, involving ValueJet Airlines.
The situation arose when KWAM 1 attempted to board a ValueJet flight with a flask containing a liquid. Aviation security and flight attendants suspected it was alcohol, which is prohibited on flights in Nigeria, and asked him to surrender the flask. KWAM 1 insisted that the flask contained prescribed medication.
The disagreement escalated into a confrontation during boarding, and KWAM 1 was later asked to leave the aircraft. After disembarking, he stood in front of the plane physically blocking it from taxiing for takeoff, even as the pilot tried to manoeuvre the aircraft. In recent times, there have been shocking incidents of unruly passenger behaviour at airports across the country. Some of the incidents, which circulated on social media, showed unnamed passengers either obstructing boarding processes or verbally abusing airport and airline staff.
One such case involved a passenger who disrupted aircraft movement over a luggage dispute, thereby grounding operations and causing many passengers to miss important engagements.
In fact, operators are of the view that the problem is not limited to airport terminals, as acts of misconduct also occur onboard aircraft.
Recently, Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, in an interview on Arise Television, narrated how some Nigerian passengers travelling from London to Lagos upgraded themselves to business class despite holding economy tickets.
Onyema said: “The things Nigerian passengers cannot do outside the country, they do onboard our aircraft. Some of the things Nigerian passengers will not do in Cotonou, they will do it here. It is unfortunate. Some people who boarded our aircraft from London promoted themselves to business class when they paid for an economy ticket. They got there, brought out three bottles of rum and started threatening everybody on the aircraft. Would they go into British Airways and perform such acts?”
Inability to comply
It is not as though there is no law in Nigeria addressing unruly passenger behaviour. However, compliance remains a challenge among some air travellers. Explicitly, Part 17.89.1 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority Regulations 2023 states that any passenger who becomes unruly at the airport terminal or on board an aircraft commits an offence.
The regulation further defines unruly passenger behaviour to include, but is not limited to: “(a) smoking on board an aircraft or in a non-smoking area of the terminal building; (b) use of mobile phones and/or other communication/electronics gadgets on board an aircraft without the approval of the aircraft commander;
“(c) fighting or other disorderly conduct on board an aircraft or at the terminal building; (d) any conduct/act constituting a nuisance to other passengers; (e) disobedience of lawful instructions issued by the aircraft commander, flight crew, cabin attendants, check-in staff and/or security screening staff; (f) any conduct that endangers or is likely to endanger the safety of flight operations; (g) tampering with smoke detectors and other aircraft equipment.”
Experts’ insights
One then wonders why, despite these regulations, unruly passenger behaviour persists in the air transport sector, where precision, discipline and order are central to safety.
Speaking to Saturday Vanguard on the issue, a retired pilot with the defunct Nigeria Airways, Mohammed Badamosi, argues that the situation mirrors the general disorderliness seen in Nigeria’s transport system.
He said: “It looks like the attitude of Nigerians when it comes to transportation. On our roads, unruly behaviour is all over the place. So, it is not unusual when it has gone to a higher level (aviation). There must be a way to handle these things, and somebody must lead the way.”
For Chief Executive Officer of Belujane Konzult, Mr Chris Aligbe, who recently spoke to Saturday Vanguard on the matter, he said: “Recurring cases of unruly behaviour mean that what we see in other countries’ aviation sector are beginning to pop up here. What we did not consider a problem in Nigeria is beginning to pop up. It is an indication that our industry is getting aligned to the global situation in recognising that some certain actions are unacceptable in the aviation sector.”
Implications
Experts are also of the view that the effects of unruly passenger behaviour extend far beyond the individuals involved. They said such actions delay flights, strain security systems and, in extreme cases, pose real threats to passenger safety.
In fact, aviation authorities have consistently warned that the implications are far-reaching, saying beyond operational delays and financial losses, persistent disorder risks eroding public confidence in air travel.
FAAN’s position
For the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, which has regularly condemned such conduct as “entirely unacceptable within the framework of civil aviation,” it also emphasises that airports are not arenas for defiance but regulated spaces where compliance is critical.
Sanctions for offenders, FAAN insists, will be decisive, ranging from fines and prosecution to possible travel restrictions.
Sanctions
Regulators say a clearly defined regime of sanctions now confronts unruly behaviour. Financial penalties are among the first line of enforcement. Passengers who refuse to comply with established safety or security procedures risk fines of up to N500,000, while actions that interfere with the duties of crew members can attract penalties of up to N200,000 or, in some cases, custodial sentences.
Beyond fines, the legal implications can escalate swiftly. Assaulting airline or airport personnel carries a minimum sentence of two months’ imprisonment, while more severe breaches, particularly those that endanger safety, can result in jail terms of up to two years. At the end of the spectrum, offences such as hijacking attempts or issuing terrorist threats attract the gravest sanction under the law: life imprisonment.
Administrative measures further reinforce this framework. Offending passengers may be blacklisted or subjected to travel bans, effectively restricting their access to air transport. In many cases, enforcement is immediate, ranging from arrest and prosecution to removal from aircraft and outright denial of boarding.
Taken together, these penalties are sending a message from regulators, including FAAN: discipline within the aviation space is non-negotiable, and any conduct that threatens order or safety will be met with swift and uncompromising consequences.
Missing link
Nevertheless, at the Emergency National Civil Aviation Security Committee and Stakeholders Meeting convened by the NCAA in Abuja in 2025, Director of Public Relations and Consumer Protection for the NCAA, Mr Michael Achimugu, said passengers are “obsessed with their rights but they choose to ignore their responsibilities.”
Achimugu, while challenging the idea that passengers are unaware of aviation rules, said since December 2023, the Consumer Protection department has consistently promoted “rights and responsibilities.”
While he asked: “Can you force people to see what they do not want to see?” he said without behavioural change, which is the missing link, it may be difficult to address recurring cases of unruly passengers across the country’s airports.
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