TENSION erupted at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) on Monday as members of the Kano business community staged a protest at the Ethiopian Airlines office over alleged tampering with luggage and theft of valuable goods by airline staff.
News Point Nigeria reports that the aggrieved businessmen, many of whom trade in electronics and imported goods, accused the airline of long-standing negligence and repeated theft from passengers’ checked baggage, particularly on flights routed through Addis Ababa.
The protest followed the arrival of passengers from Saudi Arabia via Addis Ababa on Sunday. According to the protesters, their flight was diverted to Abuja before eventually landing in Kano without their checked luggage.
They said the bags were delivered the following day, only for passengers to discover that several suitcases had been torn open, with valuable items missing.
“Enough Is Enough,” Passengers Lament
One of the affected passengers, Bashir Ali, said he had suffered repeated losses while flying with Ethiopian Airlines and had been forced to compensate customers whose goods were stolen.
“This has been happening for many years,” Ali said.
“I have had to refund customers for goods stolen from my luggage on several trips using this airline. It is bad, and enough is enough.”
Another protester, Haruna Wada, a Kano-based mobile phone dealer, said his luggage was ripped open and several iPhone 17 devices worth millions of naira were allegedly stolen.
“If this airline does not pay me back the value of my goods, my lawyers are ready. We will seek redress in court. Enough of this stealing,” Wada said.
A third passenger, Waleeda Abdallah, described the situation as widespread and damaging to the airline’s reputation.
“Passengers using Ethiopian Airlines have been complaining for a long time about missing luggage and stolen items,” Waleeda said.
“We do not understand why the authorities have not taken radical measures to stop these incidents. It is damaging the airline’s image as a major aviation hub.”
During the protest, the head of the Ethiopian Airlines office in Kano addressed the aggrieved passengers, appealing for calm and assuring them that investigations were ongoing.
She promised that the airline would look into the allegations and take steps to ensure such incidents do not recur, although no immediate compensation was announced.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed that Ethiopian Airlines has fully paid regulatory fines earlier imposed for consumer protection violations.
The NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, disclosed this on Monday via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
News Point Nigeria recalls that in December 2024, the NCAA sanctioned five airlines three international and two domestic for breaches of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations, which governs consumer protection.
The violations included failure to process refunds within stipulated timelines, non-responsiveness to NCAA directives, missing and manhandled luggage, short-landed baggage, as well as delayed and cancelled flights.
According to the NCAA, all three international airlines sanctioned—including Ethiopian Airlines—have now fully complied by paying the imposed fines.
“As always, these sanctions are intended to help improve the services of operators and not to punish them,” the authority said.
The NCAA reaffirmed its commitment to protecting passengers and ensuring accountability among airline operators serving Nigeria.