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Air Rage: Air Peace blacklists irate passenger
Air Peace has moved to check the growing trend of attacks and violence by air travellers in the country, blacklisting a passenger who flew into a rage and destroyed its check-in system at the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Tuesday.
The blacklisted passenger, it was gathered, destroyed the airline’s computer during the check-in formalities of its Lagos-Abuja flight on Tuesday. He reportedly claimed that the check-in process was too slow.
In a letter dated May 16, 2018 and addressed to the passenger, the airline described his conduct as “unacceptable.” Air Peace insisted that the passenger’s violent conduct constituted a safety risk to other members of the flying public and its staff.
Corporate Communications Manager of the airline, Mr. Chris Iwarah confirmed the development. The carrier, he said, took the decision to blacklist the unruly passenger in discharge of its obligation to protect members of the flying public and staff from harm.
“During the check-in formalities of our Lagos-Abuja Flight P47128 at the General Aviation Terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday, May 15, an impatient passenger standing in the queue suddenly flew into a rage and destroyed one of our computers. The unruly passenger claimed he destroyed the check-in system because the process was too slow.
“We were, therefore, compelled by the need to guarantee the safety of members of the flying public and our staff to blacklist the passenger and to signal our resolve to henceforth penalise violent conduct towards our valued guests and staff as well as view unwarranted destruction of our facilities very seriously.
“We are currently reviewing about 14 similar cases to determine the appropriate action to take. In the last few months alone, our staff have frequently been attacked by aggrieved passengers at the slightest excuse. Facilities costing huge sums have also been destroyed in the process.
“This easy resort to violence by unruly passengers often results in flight disruptions, delays and frustrates our resolve to deliver the best flight experience to the flying public.
“This trend poses a grave danger to the lives of our esteemed guests and staff and such unruly passengers are no longer welcome on any of our flights”.
“While we will continue to take all reasonable steps within our capacity to check violent conduct, we urge the regulatory authorities and security agencies to take a tough stand against this trend to ensure that the safety of law-abiding travellers and aviation staff is not compromised.”
Air Peace, however, assured that it would continue to regard genuine grievances by air travellers seriously and address them with dispatch.
I make bold to say from personal experience and observation that most check-in staff and sometimes cabin crew inflight of air peace airline are rude and brash in the course of carrying out their work. If passenger rage is becoming one too many then the airline should look inwards and dispassionately audit its personal behavior by ghost shopping or how so ever. I have been at check in lines on several occasion and observed how rude and arrogant some (not all) their staff deal and respond to passengers. As an industry practitioner I have also tried to intervene and caution Air peace staff to be more personable in their approach. While not ratifying or condoning reprehensible behavior to the extent of damaging airline property, I think air peace should train its personnel lavishly on customer service. Throughout the value chain of that service and that includes check-in process all through to the in flight experience et al. the customer needs to have a wholesome experience from beginning to end before s(he) can measure and affirm value.
Service marketing is about Customers Experience and where there is a dent in the course of enjoying that service offering, it mars the entire value chain, because that becomes the sore point every time the passenger/customer reflects on his or her experience on that particular voyage.