Arik gave conflicting reasons for the cancellation.
Dozens of furious passengers caused a stir at the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, after Arik Air cancelled a scheduled flight to Jos.
Flight W3 201, scheduled to leave by 2.10 p.m., was cancelled about four hours later, sending the waiting passengers into a rage.
Efforts by the airline staff, who apologised, attributing the cancellation to “landing problems” only worsened the situation.
Within minutes of the announcement of the cancellation, the usually peaceful lobby of the General Aviation Terminal turned into a battleground as passengers displayed their anger at the airline staff.
A short man, in dark suits, his face in his palms, screamed at the top of his voice: “Oh my God. I’m gonna lose a lot of money. I have a business meeting by 8′o’clock and I’m gonna lose a lot of money if I’m not there. I’m going to sue them.”
A female staff at the Check-in counter, who was telling the bewildered passengers to return on Thursday afternoon, was jolted in mid-speech by a violent shove on her chin.
“Are we your children? Just hear what she said, that they should go home and come back,” the tall, dark man in kaftan who shoved her, shouted.
The passengers said that the reason given for the cancellation of the flight was “nonsense” because the airline announced over four Abuja bound flights while they were waiting.
“They don’t have respect for Jos people. It’s only one flight (to Jos). They can’t try it on people going to Abuja,” a passenger said.
“They should have told us earlier so that we can go to Abuja and then find our way to Jos,” she added.
When contacted, Banji Ola, Arik Air Spokesperson, blamed the flight cancellation on the scarcity of aviation fuel in the country.
“We couldn’t get fuel for the Jos plane,” Mr. Ola told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone.
“It is not our making. We expect passengers who are based in Lagos to go home and come back tomorrow for their flights,” Mr. Ola added.
The Arik Air Spokesperson said that there were no measures to assist stranded passengers, noting that accommodation is only provided for those who have “connecting flights.”
“If they (Jos-bound passengers) didn’t go today, it’s definite that they will be in Jos tomorrow,” Mr. Ola added.
Source: Premium Times
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