The
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has fined Arik Air N6 million for the
violation of aviation rules in the recent poor handling of luggage belonging to
some London passengers.
NCAA
also mandated the airline to pay the affected passengers the statutory $150
(about N60,000) as compensation for the inconveniences within the next 30 days.
The
Guardian learnt that Arik Air between December 2 and 4 brought scores of
passengers from London to Lagos without their checked-in luggage.
NCAA
yesterday said the action contravened the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations
(Nig.CARs), coupled with alleged lack of compassion for the affected passengers
by the airline.
General
Manager, Public Relations of the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, said upon the receipt of
complaints, the agency invited Arik to a meeting on December 6, 2016 with a
directive to immediately address the issues.
Adurogboye
added: “However, Arik embarked on continuous flouting of the Nig.CARs and the
authority’s directives to freight all backlogs of short-landed baggage to Lagos
within 48 hours.
“Similarly,
the carrier declined to offer care and compensation to the affected passengers,
which were unanimously agreed for $150.”
He
added that the airline also did not inform the passengers at the soonest
practicable time that their checked-in baggage would be off-loaded as required
by Part 19.7.2 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2015.
“Consequent
upon these, the following sanctions suffice: Arik Air Limited to pay to the
Authority within seven days of receipt of this letter, the sum of N6,000,000.00
being civil penalty for violation of Part.19.7.2 of the Nig.CARs, 2015.”
Arik,
however, blamed the development on the use of a smaller aircraft, a Boeing
737-800 to operate the Lagos-London Heathrow route due to maintenance on the
wide-body A330-200 aircraft frequently used on the route.
The
spokesperson of the airline, Banji Ola explained that the airline’s Airbus
A330-200 aircraft was hit by a handling company at John F Kennedy International
Airport New York on December 1, 2016 which led to the B737-800 to be deployed
on the Lagos-London route.
According
to him: “In order to avoid a cancellation of the Lagos-London Heathrow flights,
an alternative B737-800 aircraft had to be allocated on the route to minimise
the inconvenience to passengers.
“The
airline was constrained in capacity from a wide-body A330-200 aircraft to a
narrow-body B737-800 aircraft and thus had to leave some of the passengers’
baggage behind in London.
“Passengers
were, however, duly informed of this capacity restriction at the check-in desk
at London Heathrow Airport and were advised of the possibility that some of
their baggage will have to be sent on subsequent flights as per space
availability.”
Source:
The Guardian
