FEDERAL Governemnt through Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it has initiated maximum enforcement action against Kenya Airways for many consumer protection infractions.
News Point Nigeria reports that among the infractions is the airline’s refusal to tender an official apology, refund and compensate a Nigerian traveller, Gloria Omisore, within 48 hours.
According to the NCAA, while the airline requested an extension of one hour after 48 hours elapsed, it failed to comply with the agency’s determination.
Disclosing this in a post on X on Saturday, the Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection at NCAA, Michael Achimugu, also noted that on Thursday, Kenya Airways failed to send in a compliance report about a scheduled flight that was delayed for seven hours with no compensation for the passengers.
Achimugu further disclosed that when the airline was confronted over the phone, its team claimed ignorance of the NCAA Regulations. He wondered how a company would operate in a foreign country with no recourse to the relevant regulations
“To this end, we are organising a retreat for all airlines operating in Nigeria to learn and relearn Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.”
Achimugu further stated, “The Country Manager in Nigeria apologised for the Gloria Omisore incident. The airline admits that they should never have boarded the passenger from Lagos.
“The airline failed to discover the lack of a France transit visa and flew this passenger to Nairobi where she had a 17-hour layover, only to be told that she would have to endure a further 10-hour wait if she must be flown to the UK.
“Passenger then asks to be provided care for that 10-hour period as she is bleeding and needs to bathe. The actions of the airline staff following her request were down to poor passenger handling. Gloria Omisore was not an unruly passenger on the first leg of the flight, nor was she rude on the Lagos-Nairobi flight.
“We put the facts of the matter to the airline and rejected the misleading official statement put out by them.
“The determination was for the airline to update its initial statement to reflect the facts of the case. There has been no compliance. Rather, the original statement that obfuscated facts, in all of its royal misleading-ness, has been allowed to grow wings and fly.
“The NCAA gave the airline an opportunity to fix what was wrong. The airline has failed to do so. Earlier yesterday, the airline asked for an extension of one hour, after which they still failed to comply with the determination of the CAA.”
He added that “The NCAA is, therefore, initiating stiff enforcement action against Kenya Airways. This action will go through due process. I have put our legal department on notice.”
The NCAA, on Tuesday, gave Kenya Airways 48 hours to apologise for the maltreatment of Omisore, who was routed to travel from Nigeria through Nairobi, Paris and then to Manchester, the same route she had followed into the country.
A Kenyan Airways staff had an altercation with the Nigerian passenger which drew public attention and condemnation.
The video, which was posted by Tunde Moshood, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, on Monday showed Omisore venting her frustration about the mistreatment of herself and other Nigerians by the airline personnel.