Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) said that by disrupting the operations of Air Peace when it denied him boarding for the Lagos-Abuja flight, former governor of Edo State and currently Senator representing Edo North District, Adams Oshiohole, violated aviation regulation.

Senator Oshiomhole who had 6:30a.m. Lagos- Abuja flight on Air Peace last Wednesday was denied boarding when he arrived at 6:05a.m., 25 minutes to departure time and was told that he would not board the flight because boarding had closed.

In another development, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered that a probe should be conducted on the incident.

Spokesman of AON and the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Obiora Okonkwo, in a press conference in Lagos yesterday called on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to bring out the CCTV video of the incident, saying that it is the video from FAAN that would clear the air on what really happened, since the Senator and the airline have made available their own videos that covered the incident.

Okonkwo stated the operators’ viewpoint on the incident and said that passengers have their rights but airline operations are guided by regulations and it is the responsibility of airlines and passengers to abide by those regulations.

“AON had had the full brief of Air Peace on this incident. And as a matter of fact, as much as we appreciate and understand that every passenger has a right, your right is limited to what is within the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) regulation and the aviation industry. There is no amount of any disappointment, if at all, from any airline that gives you any right for self-help. We have been talking about unruly behaviour. So, what you saw was a typical case of unruly behaviour. It is not acceptable. Air Peace is a respected airline. No matter what you think about it, they carry 40 to 50 percent of all the domestic passengers in Nigeria.

“They deserve respect. It is somebody’s investment. And you don’t have to leave a simple issue of whether you are late or not and start demonizing the airline. I can see some kind of bad belle and malice in that aspect. It is way too far from discussing the issues. And as a matter of fact, as operators who have looked at those things and do not see any logic in the things he (Oshiomhole) is saying, there is no airline that will not want to carry its passengers.

“Come to think of it, we have seen a number of Nigerians who are saying, Air Peace is delaying flights, Air Peace is delaying flights. Right? And here is Air Peace saying, we don’t want to delay flights anymore; that prompted them to leave passengers who were late behind.  That means they are ready to lose revenue for them to be on time. So how would you satisfy the person? When you delay flights, they blame you; when you are on time, they blame you for being on time. Is it not what this thing is all about?”

Okonkwo said that the imbroglio would be settled when FAAN makes public the CCTV footage that captured the incident.

“Air Peace has challenged FAAN, because Air Peace has its own version that makes a lot of sense to us as operators. The Distinguished Senator had his own version, but now the people in the middle is FAAN. FAAN is a landlord. They should have the full stories that will now tell us where things stand, because they should have the videos. They have their own staff on ground to know what happened. And we are really, really unhappy that FAAN, as of today, has not given their own version of the story,” he said.

The AON spokesman said that FAAN’ Aviation Security (AVSEC) does not intervene when most of these disruptions and unruly behaviour at the airports take place.

“FAAN has responsibility to protect the airlines. Air Peace does not provide security at the airport. It should be AVSEC. We pay for these services. But this time, our people are molested. Our flights are disrupted. And if you can imagine the chaotic situation that it had caused, it had affected the whole schedule of that airline. And you might be surprised to hear that on the same day, Air Peace also had two bird strikes. On the same day, two bird strikes. So, a combination of disruption at the airport, two bed strikes in different locations, where FAAN is supposed to offer services, how will the operation of these airlines be on schedule? And nobody wants to hear. This is too much. So, we are unhappy about it,” he said.

Okonkwo also threw light on the allegation of racketeering levelled at the airline by Oshiomhole, saying that the payment system embraced by airlines does not give room for racketeering and that if airline staff engaged in racketeering, airlines do not benefit in anyway, and in any case, Oshiomhole did not identify anyone allegedly involved in such illicit transaction.

“Well, you see, for me, we are here launching GDS (Global Distribution System). This is GDS, right? Is there any racketeering in GDS? Tickets are sold online. Any traveller has the right to go online and buy the ticket. Is there any racketeering online? But whereby there is any other action being carried out by touts at the airport or illegally by the staff of the airline. Can an airline be held responsible for that? Will it lead to disruption of flight? Is it the right of a passenger to assume now the power of authority or law to correct racketeering on another passenger? If that happens, if you report any staff of United Nigeria racketeering ticket, we have internal rules and regulations, that will automatically apply. So, I would that there is no racketeering. I don’t know what happens everywhere. But when that is done and it is reported, every airline should take necessary action. But there is no airline that benefits from ticket racketeering.

“So, if you don’t benefit from that; why should anybody call here for it? So, I don’t know where that is coming from. And I believe that ticket racketeering is a thing of the old, when there is no system,” the AON Spokesman said.

Professor Okonkwo also gave explanation on online check in, saying that it does not mean that the passenger can arrive at any time and board the flight; that he still has to go through some procedures but he would not queue and check in.

“When you check in online anywhere in the world, it does not mean that you should land at the airport and walk straight into the airplane.  You now have to present yourself again to the counter. But this time you are not queuing on the side of those who are there to be checked in.  Because you could have a luggage. You still have to check in your luggage. You have to weigh your luggage. It only eliminates you from queuing to check in but does not eliminate you from other processes,” he said.

Okonkwo also stated that airline closes boarding and spent time to carry out other activities in preparation for the flight and when an airline advertised departure 6:30a.m., it means that by 6:30a.m.  the aircraft would be airborne.

“And it means that when we say we are departing by 6.30a.m.; by that 6.30a.m. you’re already airborne. And for that airborne to be happening at 6.30a.m., if you guys know what happens in airline for you to fly. There is no captain who would want to leave by 6.30a.m.  and would not want to have his own manifest. His own manifest for the flight, 45 minutes or one hour before that. And for that aircraft to leave by 6.30a.m., the manifest has to be ready; that means you must have closed the boarding counter, present your manifest to the captain. And this captain has to log in the details, the weight, the number of people and these things are done online and then prepare to take off,” AON Spokesman explained.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Keyamo, has ordered a probe into the incident.

He made this known on his X handle, popularly known as Twitter, yesterday.

The minister said, “In the wake of the incident at the Lagos Airport last Wednesday involving Air Peace Airline and His Excellency, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, I have been in direct contact with both parties since that morning. I also directed the aviation agencies to exercise restraint in jumping to conclusions in line with the time-honoured legal principle of ‘hear all sides’ before reaching judgment. 

“Whilst appealing to both sides to halt the public accusations and counter-accusations, I am further directing the relevant aviation agencies to thoroughly look into the issue, collect all available evidence and revert to my office so we can deal with the issue in such a way as to guide future conducts in similar situations.”