Air travellers in Abuja
have urged the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to take a decisive action against Turkish Airlines over the recurrent cases of passengers arriving their destination without their luggage.
The travellers made the suggestion in separate interviews with The Tide source recently.
They said that the regulatory agency had not done enough to deter the airline from violating passengers’ rights.
Mr Dave Richard, who identifies himself as a regular air traveller, said that Turkish Airlines did not have regard for its Nigeria bound passengers as well as the country’s laws.
Richard said that the airline could not have been doing same to nationals of countries like the U.S., Germany or South Africa.
He urged the regulatory agency to go beyond ordering payment of compensation to passengers since it appeared that the airline did not feel any pain in paying such compensation.
“I think the airline is taking Nigeria for granted because I don’t think that it can behave like this in countries like the U.S., Germany or even South Africa.
“The NCAA should go beyond just compelling them to pay compensation; it should also punish them in a way that will make them sit up,’’ he said.
Another respondent, Mr Hafiz Kayode, said that NCAA’s Consumer Protection Regulation only prescribed moderate penalty and replacement for delay, loss or damage of customers’ luggage.
Kayode also said that in the event of recurring incidence of delay in arrival of passengers’ luggage such as this one, the regulatory agency should take action other than compensation.
According to him, delay in arrival of luggage is not unusual with airlines, but it must not be done deliberately and the passengers must be aware that their luggage would be delayed.
“The passengers have the right to be informed if their luggage will not arrive with them.
“The airline must also inform the passengers as to when they should expect their luggage, to avoid the kind of security breach that took place in December 2015,’’ he said.
When contacted, the General Manager, Public Affairs of NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye, said that the agency would take the Turkish Airlines up on the recurrent breach.
Adurogboye said that every step taken by NCAA on the matter would be made public.
“We are certainly taking them up on that breach and steps taken will be made public,’’ he said.
The Tide recalls that barely two weeks after a violent protest by passengers over the airline’s failure to deliver their luggage on arrival, another Turkish Airlines flight on Saturday, arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, without passengers’ luggage.
The action caused an outrage, leading to the suspension of some top management staff of the airport by the Minister of State for Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika.
Meanwhile, Mr Saleh Dunoma, the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), had on Saturday, advised management of the airline to resolve the recurrent cases of arriving Nigeria without passengers’ luggage.
Dunoma described as unacceptable, the recurrence of such infraction barely two weeks after a similar incident.