NCAA may penalise Arik for flight delay

THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) may penalise Arik Air for its alleged delay of a Calabar bound flight two days ago, the authority's Director-General, Captain Folayele Akinkuotu,said  in a statement Friday.

NCAA said that it found  the handling of the Calabar-bound flight and the passenger rights in total contravention of the NCAA Consumer Bill of Rights.

Akinkuotu said, 'The Calabar-bound passengers having been delayed for over three hours in the first instance are entitled to compensation and were unfairly treated.

'Arik Airlines acted in total breach of the law. Such shabby and total disregard for passenger comfort and rights will not be tolerated and will attract appropriate sanctions.'

He explained that NCAA finds the action of the passengers against the Arik airplane and the passengers on board same flight as unacceptable and amounts to an act of illegality, describing it unlawful and punishable by law.

Akinkuotu said the NCAA would continue to monitor these infringements and would ensure compliance with the law.

Angry passengers of Arik Airlines had on Thursday evening blocked the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, preventing planes from taking-off or landing.

According to reports, the flight that had the Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke, on board, was denied landing at the Calabar airport at about 5.30pm by the station manager due to safety concerns.

It was learnt that despite pleas by the aides to the governor to allow the landing of the aircraft, the station manager refused, citing the fact that the runway lightening was poor, so the pilot was left with no other choice than to return the passengers to the Abuja airport.

A passenger in one of the stranded airplanes said he and other travellers had to disembark and sat on the tarmac for more than one hour after the pilot announced that the plane could not take off because the runway had been blocked.

Spokesman for Arik, Adebanji Ola, said it was not the fault of the airline that the Calabar airport was closed by the time the flight from Abuja got there.

He said: 'The flight was delayed because there was Very Important Personality movement and there was also some weather issues; it is not the fault of the airline that the plane could not land there.

'We are amazed that despite the security at the Abuja airport, passengers were still able to hijack the aircraft and hold other planes to ransom, that should not be the case.'