Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace said on Thursday that it has moved to check the growing trend of attacks and violence by air travellers in the country, blacklisting a passenger who flew into a rage and destroyed its check-in system at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.
The blacklisted passenger, it was gathered, destroyed the airline’s computer during the check-in formalities of its Lagos-Abuja flight on Tuesday and reportedly claimed that the check-in process was too slow.
In a letter dated May 16 and addressed to the passenger, the airline described his conduct as “unacceptable” and insisted that the passenger’s violent conduct constituted a safety risk to other members of the flying public and its staff.
Corporate Communications Manager of the airline, Mr. Chris Iwarah confirmed the development and explained that the airline took the decision to blacklist the unruly passenger in discharge of its obligation to protect members of the flying public and staff from harm.
“During the check-in formalities of our Lagos-Abuja Flight P47128 at the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday, May 15, an impatient passenger standing in the queue suddenly flew into a rage and destroyed one of our computers. The unruly passenger claimed he destroyed the check-in system because the process was too slow.
“We were, therefore, compelled by the need to guarantee the safety of members of the flying public and our staff to blacklist the passenger and to signal our resolve to henceforth penalise violent conduct towards our valued guests and staff as well as view unwarranted destruction of our facilities very seriously. We are currently reviewing about 14 similar cases to determine the appropriate action to take,” Iwarah said.
He disclosed that in the last few months alone, staff of the airline had been attacked by passengers who become aggrieved “at the slightest excuse”.
“Facilities costing huge sums have also been destroyed in the process. This easy resort to violence by unruly passengers often results in flight disruptions, delays and frustrates our resolve to deliver the best flight experience to the flying public. This trend poses a grave danger to the lives of our esteemed guests and staff and such unruly passengers are no longer welcome on any of our flights.
“While we will continue to take all reasonable steps within our capacity to check violent conduct, we urge the regulatory authorities and security agencies to take a tough stand against this trend to ensure that the safety of law-abiding travellers and aviation staff is not compromised,” he added.
