…seeks, Accommodation or Compensation
Relief has come for numerous Turkish Airlines passengers stranded at Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
The Acting Director General, Civil Aviation, Captain Chris Najomo, has instructed the airline to either provide accommodation or compensate the 300 affected passengers.
This comes as Turkish Airlines has canceled flights between Istanbul and Nigeria for Wednesday and Thursday this week.
During a news conference in Lagos, the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, Mr. Michael Achimugu, expressed deep regret over the situation.
He emphasized that the NCAA is committed to ensuring the rights of the stranded passengers are protected and will do everything possible to resolve the issue.
“The airline have stated their case and we are looking into the part of the matter However, our first priority are the stranded passengers at the airport, we will not tolerate the manhandling of Nigerian passengers anywhere in the world”.
According to the NCAA spokesman, President Bola Tinubu, the aviation minister and the NCAA Acting DGCA, and the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN are deeply concerned about this development and seek speedy resolution to the problem.
Mr. Achimugu attributed the problem to a disagreement between the airline and labour unions, which is currently being addressed to reach an amicable resolution.
“We are waiting to mediate tomorrow between the airline and the Union so that we can get a hasty solution to this impasse”.
However, he criticized the behavior of the Turkish Airlines country manager during a meeting, which the DG attended virtually.
The staff and country manager of the airline, according to Mr. Achimugu, were unruly, aggressive and repeatedly banged on the table.
“The NCAA rejects the unruly behavior of the Turkish airline country manager in our premises today, as he was fuming, he was screaming, he was banging our tables and it took the intervention of the DGCA to bring that to a close”.
He assured that the NCAA’s Consumer Protection Department is fully committed to its responsibilities and will operate within regulatory frameworks.
He also noted that if sanctions are necessary, the NCAA will not hesitate to impose them.
“Whatever course for sanctions will be sanctioned and whatever course for mediation will be mediated”.