The Aviation watchdog of Nigeria, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has disclosed that it initiated maximum enforcement action against Kenya Airways for several consumer protection violations involving the Nigerian passengers.
The regulatory body has put its legal department on notice to ensure due process is followed in addressing issues bordering on cases of refunds not paid, lost baggage not compensated despite admitting to losing them, and failure to honour commitments.
NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr Michael Achimugu disclosed this while giving an update on the development concerning the maltreatment of Nigerian passengers by the East African carrier.
Achimugu said following the maltreatment of a Nigerian passenger: Gloria Omisore the regulatory authority has begun steps to discipline the carrier.
He said Kenya Airways had been serially violating regulations issued by the NCAA.
He said, ”The NCAA gave the airline an opportunity to fix what was wrong. The airline has failed to do so.
“Earlier yesterday, the airline asked for an extension of one hour, after which they still failed to comply with the determination of the CAA.“On Thursday, in a separate issue, the airline failed to send in a compliance report about a scheduled flight that was delayed for seven hours with no compensation for the passengers.
“When confronted over a phone call, the Kenya Airways team claimed ignorance of the NCAA Regulations. We are sending them a copy of it. But, how can you operate in a foreign country with no recourse to the relevant regulations? How is this different from those who claimed that Omisore should have known the travel documents she needed for her trip?
“To this end, we are organising a retreat for ALL airlines operating in Nigeria to learn and relearn Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023. One would expect that knowledge of all necessary regulations is essential.
“Added to the other long-ignored cases read out to the KQ team that attended the meeting, the CAA is dismayed by the actions of this airline.”
As per Michael Achimugu, Kenya Airways acknowledged that they were at fault for not recognizing the problem before airlifting Omisore from Lagos.
The carrier also expressed regret for obfuscating facts in their previous statement. Achimugu revealed that he had insisted on Kenya Airways apologizing to the NCAA and the passenger publicly.
The airline has since issued a revised statement that accurately depicts what transpired in Nairobi.
The incident began when Omisore contacted Kenya Airways before her trip to inquire about her eligibility to travel on a specific route.
As being claimed, despite disclosing that she lacked a Schengen visa but had British residency status, she was assured of her eligibility. However, she was later maltreated by the airline, prompting the NCAA to intervene.
Achimugu said :
" The airline has admitted that it should never have boarded the passenger from Lagos. The airline failed to discover the lack of a France transit visa and flew this passenger to Nairobi where she had a 17-hour layover, only to be told that she would have to endure a further 10-hour wait if she must be flown to the UK."
Kenya Airways’ duty manager, Ezenwa Ehumadu; station manager, Eric Mukira; and country manager, James Nganga, were in attendance at the meeting with the NCAA.
“The passenger then asks to be provided care for that 10-hour period as she is bleeding and needs to bathe. The actions of the airline staff following her request were down to poor passenger handling. Gloria Omisore was not an unruly passenger on the first leg of the flight, nor was she rude on the Lagos-Nairobi flight.
“We put the facts of the matter to the airline and it rejected the misleading official statement that they put out to the public.
“The determination was for the airline to update its initial statement to reflect the facts of the case. There has been no compliance. Rather, the original statement that obfuscated facts, in all of its royal ‘misleading-ness’, has been allowed to grow wings and fly.
“Take the blog post by one Charles Onyango-Obbo for instance. The writer still asserts that Gloria Omisore blatantly refused the offer to fly to London. This lie is being told despite the admission of Kenya Airways Country Manager in Nigeria, James Nganga, that the passenger only became frustrated when the 10-hour wait attached to that offer did not come with accommodation.
“This was a bleeding woman who had already experienced the inconvenience of a 17-hour layover. She needed to clean up, and possibly have a bath. If the airline was not going to provide the care, its staff could have handled the matter professionally. In the viral video, the airline’s staff could be heard hurling insults and raising her voice in response to the infuriated passenger.”
Achimugu said James Nganga admitted in one of the videos below, that the staff’s behaviour was against airline policy. He went on saying:
"The writer also claimed that the meeting between my team and the airline was held in Lagos. Simple research would have told him that the NCAA HQ is in Abuja. This is what happens when people are more interested in narrative creation rather than facts. They know their audience."
“Truth shouldn’t be hard to tell,” "Cases of refunds not paid, lost baggage not compensated for despite admitting to losing them, and failure to honour commitments."
“The NCAA is, therefore, initiating stiff enforcement action against Kenya Airways. This action will go through due process. I have put our legal department on notice.”
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