As travel professionals, we know aviation safety is not just about machines—it is about people, processes, and discipline. The NCAA’s new phone directive reflects a system trying to reassert order after two embarrassing episodes. But while passengers must shoulder blame, airline staff and regulators also bear responsibility.

The Ibom Air incident revealed more than a brawl—it revealed a collapse of professionalism. Cabin crew, trained to de-escalate, instead crossed the line into assault. That is not just bad service; it violates the very standards FAAN (Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria) is meant to uphold: ensuring the safety, security, and dignity of the travelling public. For an agency tasked with protecting passengers, allowing such breaches of decorum to occur is a failure of oversight.

Airports are not only gateways to the skies; they are ambassadors of a nation’s brand. From check-in to cabin crew, professionalism should be as non-negotiable as the wings on an aircraft. When FAAN fails to enforce standards on the ground, or airlines allow crews to compromise passengers’ dignity, it erodes trust in Nigeria’s aviation system just as much as a reckless celebrity blocking a jet.

Globally, IATA and ICAO remind us that aviation thrives on consistency and predictability. Nigeria cannot afford irregularities, be it a passenger with ego-inflated antics, or an airline staff forgetting their training in conflict management. Both represent turbulence the industry can ill afford.

So here is the final boarding call:

1. Passengers, respect the rules—phones off, tempers down.
2. Airlines, retrain your crews—professionalism is not optional.
3. FAAN and NCAA enforce standards—safety must extend beyond cockpits to the human experience of flight.

Because in the end, aviation isn’t just about keeping planes in the sky—it’s about keeping trust intact on the ground.

Osamudiamwen Osaghae
Chief Executive Officer
AFARI TRAVELS & TOURS