NANTA Partners IATA, NCAA to Curb Fraud in Aviation Sector
The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has expressed its determination to partner the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to eliminate fraud in the aviation industry.
The body noted that out of 6,000 travel agencies operating in Nigeria, only about 10per cent, (600) was registered under the appro- priate organisations, such as NANTA and IATA.
Speaking during a stakeholder meeting at the weekend in Lagos, NANTA President, Bankole Bernard disclosed that as a result of the economic downturn in the economy, several people resort to fraudulent practices and vowed that NANTA would collaborate with relevant agencies to end such illicit acts in the aviation industry.
“The job of a travel agent is not for everyone but for professionals. It is sad today that people who have lost their jobs as a result of the recession run to start up a travel agency without proper training and certifications. Passengers are often stranded because of these fraudsters who only collect their money and abscond. Today, it is difficult to know who a true agent is, thereby forcing people to do business directly with the airlines because of the sad experiences they have had,” Bernard added.
He recalled that few weeks back, a woman defrauded travellers in Nigeria by issuing fake tickets and absconded with over N56million.
Bankole said in a bid to curtail this menace, the agency is partnering NCAA to introduce a Travel Practitioners Identification Project.
“With this project, we will create a database to accommodate all genuine travel practitioners in Nigeria and issue a unique identification number to every practitioner in the industry. This database will be accessible to all stakeholders in the sector. This way, fraudsters who are not registered on the system can be fished out,” he said.
He added that each practitioner will have an identity card, which will cost N3, 500 and would be renewed every three years at the cost of N2, 500 and this would help identify who the true travel agents are.
Earlier, the Director of Air Transport Regulations at the NCAA, Edem Oyo-Ita, who represented the Director General of the agency, said there was need to sanitise the downstream of the sector as the recent fraudulent activities have continued to impact negatively in the image of the country.
He said this project would bring sanity to the system once again by identifying the fraudsters, applying sanctions and creating an environment where practitioners can serve the economy better.