Arik Air, has accused the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, of ‘unprofessional’ conduct by going public with the N6 Million fine Issued to the Airline on Tuesday.
Public Relations Manager of Arik Air, Adebanji Ola, said in a statement on Wednesday that the letter should not have been publicised since the deadline given for the company to respond to it had not elapsed.
The NCAA on Tuesday handed a N6million fine to Arik Air Limited for the delay of passengers luggage between December 2nd and 4th, while also ordering it to pay the sum of $150 each to the passengers as compensation.
But in response to the development on Wednesday, Ola explained that Arik Air did everything possible to ensure the passengers got their baggage in good time.
According to the statement, the A330-200 aircraft that was supposed to convey the passengers was damaged by a ground handling truck, and the airline quickly deployed a B737-800 on the London route to minimise the disruption to the passengers.
He added that “all passengers checking in from London were given a letter informing them of the capacity limitation and weight restriction on this aircraft type and advised that some of their baggage would be delayed because of this and transported on the next available flight with capacity. All passengers were accepted on to the flight based on this understanding.
“However, after arriving in Lagos some of them formed pressure groups and took the laws into their own hands disrupting the operations of the airline, assaulting the airline’s employees and destroying its property,” Ola said.
The spokesman also alleged that some of Arik Air’s employees were beaten and hospitalised, and that the passengers disrupted its operations.
“Some of the passengers disrupted our operations for several days thereby making it impossible for the aircraft to operate from Lagos and return from London Heathrow before the night curfew, further preventing the short landed bags from being recovered,” he said.
The statement further alleged that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, security personnel watched on as the passengers disrupted, adding that their actions prevented a quicker resolution in the recovery of baggage.
“Some FAAN security personnel were also encouraging passengers to disrupt checking-in process and seated themselves on top of Arik Air check-in counters,” Ola said.
He however assured customers as well as other stakeholders in the aviation industry that it would address the issues raised in the NCAA’s letter within the seven days deadline given in the letter.