Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has summoned Kenya Airways’ (KQ) station manager in Lagos over what it says is a “long history of maltreatment” of the country’s passengers by the airline.
- •The summons came at the heels of an incident at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) where KQ said a Nigerian passenger reacted rudely and inappropriately to a request to board a connecting flight to London, instead of Paris.
- •A viral video circulating on social media platforms shows an angry KQ agent tell the Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, that she will never board the airline ever again.
- •In a response, KQ said that two-minute video clip did not convey the context of the scuffle and that it had reported the incident to relevant security agencies.
“The guest was traveling from Lagos to Nairobi, Paris, and Manchester. On arrival in Nairobi for her connecting flight (Nairobi-Paris), it was discovered that she did not have a SCHENGEN Visa, which is a requirement for her to enter any European Union Country,” Kenya Airways said in a statement.
NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection Michael Achimugu challenged the narrative claiming that KQ should have informed the passenger which documents she needed during her travel before leaving Nigeria. He ordered Omisore’s immediate airlift to her destination and later confirmed that the she had boarded and alighted a KQ flight to Lagos, Nigeria.
“The Authority will meet with the passenger tomorrow to be advised on proper conflict resolution protocols per future flights. Regardless of extreme provocation from airline personnel, unruly behaviour is not permitted at the airport or on the aircraft,” Achimugu said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He added that the authority had granted KQ had a 24-hour extension to prepare for the meeting, and said the airline would be asked to provide footage to back its claims that the passenger had been unruly, even throwing her used sanitary towels at the desk agent, as indicated in KQ’s statement.
