Kenya Airways has expressed regret to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for the maltreatment of Gloria Omisore, a Nigerian passenger, and for providing a false statement regarding the incident.
The apology came after NCAA representatives and airline management met Tuesday in Abuja.
Michael Achimugu, the NCAA’s Director of Consumer Protection and Public Affairs, revealed this in a post on his official X handle.
“Their team has expressed regret for obfuscating facts in their previous statement. Call or not, they also acknowledged that the airline was at fault for not recognising the problem before airlifting the customer from Lagos, according to Achimugu.
He stated that he was responsible for maintaining the rules set down by the civil aviation authority while safeguarding all parties involved in aviation, including travellers and airlines.
Achimugu claimed to have insisted on Kenya Airways apologising to the NCAA and the passenger in public. The airline has subsequently issued a revised statement that accurately depicts what transpired in Nairobi.
Kenya Airways’ duty manager, Ezenwa Ehumadu; station manager, Eric Mukira; and country manager, James Nganga, were in attendance at the meeting.
Omisore had reportedly been in touch with Kenya Airways before her trip to inquire about her eligibility to travel on the Manchester-Paris-Nairobi-Lagos route incoming and the Lagos-Nairobi-Paris-Manchester route outbound, according to the NCAA.
According to reports, she disclosed to the airline that she was a Nigerian who lacked a Schengen visa but had British residency status. She was assured of her eligibility despite this.
Achimugu said, “She bought the ticket based on this information and flew into Nigeria via Paris and Nairobi without any problems.”
However, the airline failed to obtain a transit permit for the Paris leg and boarded her from Lagos on her return trip. Only in Nairobi was the oversight found.
After a 17-hour layover, Kenya Airways offered her a direct ticket to London at no additional cost, but she had to wait an extra 10 hours.
“The traveller, who was tired and ill, asked for treatment and accommodations, pointing to the airline’s mistake. She got into a fight with the airline employees after this was refuted, Achimugu continued.
Additionally, Kenya Airways employees’ actions during the incident were denounced by the NCAA.
Achimugu said, “I was deeply disappointed by the airline’s employees’ unruly behaviour, especially the derogatory comments about the Nigerian government, which implied that nothing would be done regardless of how Nigerians were treated.”
According to the airline’s previous statement, Omisore did not decline to take the alternate flight, he added.
Rather, she was irritated by the airline’s acknowledgement of wrongdoing but the extended wait and the refusal of basic treatment.
Omisore’s job security was also at risk, and Kenya Airways has been ordered to reimburse and compensate her for the “avoidable humiliation and distress” she suffered.
Despite the airline’s first request for 72 hours to react, the NCAA only gave them 48 hours, saying that “given how quickly the false statement was released, truth should not be that hard to publish.”
More information will be released after the airline follows the directive.
