Several passengers, including children, have been stranded at Kaduna
Airport since Tuesday, following the failure of Arik Airlines to airlift
them as scheduled.
Some of the disappointed passengers made the
complaint to the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, at the
airport during the on-the-spot assessment of the facilities on ground at
the airport.
Source:- today.ng/
They lamented that they had been parading the
airport since on Tuesday just to board Arik air from Kaduna to Lagos to
no avail without any explanation or apology from the airline officials.
They described the attitude of the operators of the airline as nonchalant because there was no notification by any means.
They
added that it was until after the passengers approached the minister to
complain that one of the officials told them to come back on Saturday.
The
airline was said to have been canceling its flight without considering
the distance they travelled from or the implication of such on their
businesses.
One of the passengers who gave her name as Mrs.
Nkenna, with her three kids, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that
she and her family were supposed to have traveled to Lagos on Tuesday.
She
said the airline had been cancelling flight without prior notification,
adding that it had been the same experience in the last four days.
“I and my family including our children are being stranded at Kaduna Airport by Arik Airline.
“I
don’t know what to do because the airline did not give us any prior
notice to the cancellation of the flight; no SMS, no email.
“We
have been coming to the airport everyday since Tuesday hoping to to
board only for an official of the airline to tell us on Friday that we
will board on Saturday.
Another affected passengers, Janet
Oyedele, expressed her frustration with the airline, saying she was not
aware of the cancelation of the flight until she got to the airport.
“One
of the staff working at the airline’s counter assured us that the
flight was rescheduled for Saturday but was not sure of the possibility
of the flight.
“Arik Air seems to be a disgrace to this country
and unfortunately for them, they are not the only carrier flying, why
are other airlines not affected?
“The reason is Arik air has been messing up with passengers and getting away with it over time,” she said.
Reacting
to the four-day cancellation of flight, Arik Air Communications
Manager, Ola Adebanji, attributed the cancellation to fuel scarcity and
bad weather.
According to Mr. Adebanji, there was fuel scarcity
earlier in the week, in addition to bad weather. So, it is not
deliberate but if the weather is okay to fly today, they will go.
On whether there would be any form of compensation for the passengers, he said he was not aware of that.
