April 8, (THEWILL)- West Africa’s largest carrier, Air Peace has denied the allegation of abandoning passengers at Owerri Airport on Sunday, April 7, 2024.
According to the airline, the allegation is not only false but also an outrageous claim which was malicious and deliberate.
In an official statement issued on Monday, signed by the management, Air Peace stated that “our attention has been drawn to a report by a news platform where a passenger claimed that Air Peace engaged in ticket racketeering and abandoned passengers at Owerri Airport on Sunday, April 7, 2024”.
Air Peace affirmed that the passenger, who made this spurious claim, came late to the airport after check-in had closed following the regulations, adding that it was not true that the passenger was there an hour before the departure time.
“It is standard regulatory practice that check-in for domestic flights closes 45 minutes before departure. The said flight was our 12:20 pm Owerri-Lagos Flight of yesterday, Sunday, April 7, 2024. Check-in for that flight closed at exactly 11:35 am, boarding protocols started almost immediately, and the flight was airborne at exactly the departure time of 12:20 pm.
“It is absolute malicious falsehood for this passenger to claim that we overlooked our bonafide Air Peace passengers while selling tickets to Dana Airlines and United Nigeria Airlines stranded passengers while the said Air Peace bonafide passengers looked on.
“Again, the passenger gave the impression that a whole lot of passengers who came on time were abandoned. This is an untrue statement and can be verified as we never left any passenger, who was there before counter closure behind”, Air Peace informed.
Air Peace equally noted that the airline appreciates the passenger’s patronage and empathises with them for the inconveniences suffered as a result of their late arrival at the airport counter.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
