There are plans to raise the passenger service charge (PSC), charged by airlines as a percentage of air tickets and paid to aviation agencies, in 2009 in an effort to cushion effects of air accidents on families of victims in Nigeria.
”Passenger service charge may increase in 2009. It is going to be a dedicated insurance scheme. It does not prevent the airlines from carrying out their obligations of paying compensation,” said the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Harold Demuren.
The current PSC is 5% of the value of air tickets, and the percentage of increase has not been determined.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), airlines are mandated to pay US$100,000 per passenger as compensation in case of death.
However, families of victims of recent air crashes in Nigeria have been locked in a battle of wits with the airlines involved over the payment of such compensation.
”We know that there is no amount of money that can bring back the dead, but they (airlines) must do what is required of them,” Demuren said.
The planned fund resulting from the higher PSC will be administrated by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON).
