Over 250 passengers of KLM Airlines heading to Europe and other destinations across the world were stranded for almost 48 hours, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA) Lagos, following a technical fault developed by the airline’s aircraft on Thursday night.
Some of the passengers who spoke with The Nation were apprehensive that they might not meet up with their appointments, as they alleged that the management of the airline was not communicating with them after they were checked into a hotel at Amuwo-Odofin area of the state.
One of the affected passengers who simply identified himself as Chris, told our correspondent that they had already boarded before the airline’s crew informed them that they would not be departing Lagos as arranged due to technical fault developed by the aircraft, adding that they were disembarked at 11pm and later taken to the hotel.
Though, he agreed that their inability to travel as scheduled because of the technical fault was in line with international best practices, he lamented that none of the officials of the airline had since Thursday, told them when they would depart the country to their various destinations.
He said: “Apart from checking us into the hotel, none of us was given ordinary refreshments as recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, (ICAO). Such maltreatment would not have happened in Europe and other countries.”
Chris, who claimed that he was on his way to New York for a conference scheduled to hold between today and Monday expressed doubts about meeting up with the event which he said was crucial to his professional advancement.
Threatening to press for the refund of his money, he said: “It is sad that these people are treating us this way in our own country. We were supposed to have travelled since Thursday and up till now, there is no information about our departure. There ought to be a helpdesk for passengers through which we could communicate with the airline’s officials but they did not provide that.
“To make matters worse, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) that is even supposed to protect us is not doing anything about our plights. We are just like displaced people here. People are angry and hungry here because there is no provision for dinner for us as I am talking to you now. They can’t do this in Europe or elsewhere because they would pay heavy compensation. It is unfortunate that they come here and get away with so many atrocities without any protection for the flying public the relevant government bodies. They appear not to understand that it is not all of us that are going to Amsterdam. A number of us are going to the United States of America and other destinations in Europe.”
When our correspondent contacted the spokesman for NCAA, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, he promised to contact the Customer Protection Directorate of the agency for more information, but as at the time of filing this report, he was yet to do so.
The spokesman of KLM could not however be reached as at the time of filing this report for comments.
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