Stranded Arik Air New York-bound passengers disrupt Lagos Airport operations

Stranded Arik Air New York-bound passengers disrupt Lagos Airport operations

New York bound intending passengers on Arik Air
have been stranded at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport, Lagos.

The intending travellers, numbering no fewer than
100 were stranded at the airport since April 17.

The intending travellers resorted to violent protests,
invading the tarmac of the airport and disrupting a
scheduled Lagos-Accra flight of Arik Air early on
Saturday.

However, the spokesman of Arik Air, Mr Ola
Adebanji, told reporters that the issue had been
resolved and that the Accra-bound aircraft later
made the trip.

Adebanji explained that the U.S. bound passengers
could not depart as scheduled, due to
malfunctioning of the browser, fuelling the aircraft.

He assured that the U.S bound passengers would
make their trip immediately the problem was fixed.

One of the stranded travellers, who identified
herself simply as Tolu, lamented her inability to
make the trip on schedule.

She said that the management of Arik Air had kept
them in the dark on the inability of the plane to
depart on schedule.

Tolu said that the intending passengers were
abandoned, instead of being lodged in a hotel and
that they had no means to get in touch with their
families.

She claimed that the abandoned travellers were only
given snacks and a bottle of water since Friday
morning when the flight was cancelled.

Another passenger described the handling of the
intending passengers by the airline as poor.

According to him, Arik Air has persistently
abandoned intending passengers without tangible
excuses while “the industry regulator, the Nigerian
Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), often looks the
other way’’.

He, however, vowed to challenge the latest
development in court.

When contacted, the Director of Consumer Protection
of NCAA, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, said that the duty
of NCAA on passenger processing stopped at the
boarding gate where Aviation Security takes over
from.

Adamu, however, promised to investigate the matter,
especially the non-protection of passengers who
were supposed to be taken to hotel and offered
amenities.