Despite assurances from the new Acting Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Chris Nojoma, travelling passengers are still getting a rough ride in Nigeria.
Nojoma is a hardline champion for passenger rights and yet despite numerous assurances to improve airline service delivery in Nigeria, the initiative seems to be failing.
Air Peace - famous for politicising aviation in Nigeria and yet equally notorious for failing to deliver a schedule - does it yet again.
This time (yes, it's a regular thing), on the 2nd of February they announced that they will delay the flight: (P47425) from Kano to Abuja initially scheduled for departure at 16.50 hours, the first delay was announced after passengers had checked in and they were told that their service would instead depart at 20.55 hours.
At 21.15 hours (yes, a good 20 minutes after the previous announced departure time (!) the suffering passengers were told that their operating aircraft would now arrive at 22.20 hours. At 22.10 hours the airline then went on to announce that the operating flight would now arrive into Kano at 01.00 hours the following morning (3rd February).
Eventually, only 50 passengers were offered seats (meaning that over 50 passengers had to stay back, as the aircraft that the airline eventually sent had lower seat capacity. Passengers that stayed back had to sleep on airport chairs and the floor as no hotel accommodation was provided.
Passengers have spoken about the poor customer service of the airline (not for the first time) and had to plead for refreshments.
The flight carrying the 50 passengers eventually took off at 00.55 hours.
Joanne Moore
dre aviation
London
