The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed passengers on domestic flights to switch off their mobile phones during take-off and landing, warning that the “flight mode” option will no longer suffice.

Director-General of NCAA, Chris Najomo, announced the directive at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

The move follows a recent altercation between a passenger, Comfort Emmanson, and an Ibom Air flight attendant, which highlighted confusion caused by inconsistent airline rules.

Najomo said:
“As a takeaway and to avoid ambiguity, all mobile phones and other portable electronic devices should be switched off during the critical stages of flight. Nothing like flight mode any longer.”

Airlines have been instructed to amend their operations manuals to reflect this requirement and submit them to the NCAA for approval.

Najomo added that the directive may be reviewed in future as aircraft technology evolves, but for now compliance rests on both flight crews and passengers.