Passengers grumble as Nigerian-owned private airline, Air Peace, delays hundreds of Lagos-bound passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for over seven hours for no cogent reason.
In a video recording, and from digital photos obtained by our correspondent, the exhausted passengers could be seen waiting at the departure unit of the airport to board their delayed flight.
An aggrieved passenger, who identified himself as Adebisi Adelowo, told our correspondent that the passengers had been at the airport before noon on Friday, while the management of the airline failed to attend to them despite the delay.
Adelowo said, “We have been at the airport before noon today, and Air Peace has refused to pick us up and take us to Lagos for no just cause. There are so many people here – hundreds of them, and we’re all exhausted.
“The most unfortunate thing is that the same Air Peace has been flying passengers to Akwa-Ibom, Owerri, Warri, and other places in Nigeria, but they’ve refused to take passengers to Lagos. The airline company, Air Peace, just sent messages to passengers at about 07:00 pm, to inform us that our Lagos-bound flights would take off by 07:30 pm.”
Speaking further, Adelowo added, “Meanwhile, Dana Air, Arik Air, amongst others have been taking passengers to Lagos since morning. Now Air Peace is giving an excuse that there’s an issue relating to aviation fuel. But if that were to be true, it would not have affected only Lagos-bound Air Peace flights, while the same airline has been flying to other cities since morning, and its competitors have been flying to Lagos all day.”
Another passenger who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, “Air Peace is just nonchalant about the welfare of its customers. We have been delayed here for over seven hours and they’re not doing anything to salvage the situation. I, just like many other passengers here, might not patronise the airline after tonight considering this unfortunate experience. The same Air Peace has been flying to other cities, but they’ve refused to take passengers to Lagos, and they are not telling us why.”
