By Khadija Abubakar
Air passengers travelling from Kano to Abuja on Air Peace Airline (P47425) were left stranded at the Aminu Kano International Airport, on Friday following a sudden rescheduled of the flight.
The Abuja bound Air Peace earlier scheduled to depart Kano at 4.50 pm Friday was subsequently shifted to 1 am Saturday leaving innocent passengers confused.
The unfortunate development ensued after the passengers were already checked in and spent a long period waiting at the Kano airport as scheduled, only to be inundated with the airline announced.
A passenger told Newspoint Nigeria, that passengers were initially communicated that the flight was rescheduled because the aircraft meant to lift the passengers from Kano would arrive at 10.20 pm
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In the narration, the distressed passengers were served with carbonated drinks and biscuits after they called out the airline for shabby service and taking advantage of its passengers.
According to the paper, one Mr Wole Adeyeye, lamented frustration and untold hardship being forced to pass through by Air Peace.
“Who is going to be held responsible for us getting to Lagos or Abuja by 1 am or 2 am? This is not right at all and definitely not fair to passengers.
“It is really frustrating and disheartening the way passengers are being treated because what happens is that they take your money, get you to the airport and then dump you there. Nobody cares where you are going to or how you even get there,” he said”.
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Another passenger, Prof. A. Mohammed of Ahmadu Bello University demanded accommodation for passengers when it was becoming obvious they would have to spend the night in Kano.
“I feel very bad. The confusion here and time wasting, is it correct? If we are to leave here by 1 am, they should make accommodation available for us because it is not safe for us to go to our destinations in the wee hours of the morning knowing the insecurity of the country.
“After such a long time, they only offered us Fanta; is it Fanta we came to the airport to drink? How can you treat people this way,” he asked.
Besides the Kano-Abuja bound hurdle, it was gathered that passengers travelling from Kano to Lagos also faced a similar fate.
Meanwhile, it was reported that after an uproar by passengers, the airline management finally offered to airlift 50 passengers on the Lagos route on a smaller aircraft stationed in Kano.
Air Peace Station Manager, Mr Muhyideen Sanni, who appealed for calm, assured that all passengers would be flying to Lagos together.
He explained that the flight to Lagos was delayed due to a technical fault and urged passengers to volunteer to stay back at the airport while vulnerable passengers, including mothers with infants and the aged, were allowed on the smaller aircraft.
As motivation, he said the airline would provide dinner for those who volunteered to stay back and a 25 percent discount on their next flight with the airline.
After negotiations and considerations, some passengers offered to stay back. The 50 passengers to Lagos boarded at about 11.54 p.m. while the volunteers slept on chairs at the airport.
The situation was later brought under control as passengers bound for Abuja finally checked in at 12.45 a.m. and took off at 12.55 am, leaving behind the Lagos-bound volunteer passengers whose fate was yet to be determined at the time of filing this report.
(Newspoint Nigeria)
