Insurance: Scores of passengers stranded at airports over Arik’s flights suspension

*Situation may continue for days-Airline

* We will be back-Arik’s CEO

We are Scores of passengers across the country from New York, Johannesburg and London booked on Arik Air were left stranded following the inability of the airline to airlift them to their destinations.

Idowu showunmi who called Woleshadare.net from London expressed his frustration, saying they were left stranded at Heathrow Airport.

Many others called from Accra, New York and across West Africa countries saying they had been at their various airports since 7am with no flight in sight to take them to their destinations.

‎Another passenger who spoke from Abuja expressed anger over the situation.

Since early morning today, none of the airline’s aircraft has been operated to any destinations in Nigeria, West Africa and other routes.

Some of the early morning flights of Arik Air include Lagos-Abuja at 6:45 am and 7:30, Abuja-Lagos at 8:00 and 9:00. Others are Benin, Port Harcourt, Asaba, aat he had been at the airport as early as 7:00 for a 7:30 am flight to Abuja, but as at 3 pm, it was yet to be known if passengers would eventually make the trip to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Meanwhile, Arik Air said it has alerted all air travelers of a temporary disruption to its operations, pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal.

The airline said that it was working around the clock to resolve the necessary documentation, which has been a challenge due to the long weekend holidays due to Ed al Adha.

The management of the airline said at the present time, all flights of the airline have been cancelled for Tuesday, September 13. 2016 adding that the airline would be getting in touch with passengers to provide an update on rescheduling of their flights. This situation is likely to continue for the next few days until such time that NAICOM (National Insurance Commission) approves a waiver on a priority basis for the new insurance company to renew the policy.

All customers are kindly advised to contact Arik Air’s Call Centre (01-2799999), Airport or City ticket offices or visit the airline’s Website (www.arikair.com) for further updates. Passengers are also advised to check with the airline regarding the status of their flights before proceeding to the airport.

Arik Air’s Group CEO, Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, wishes to advise and assure the public, its customers, stakeholders and partners that we are fully committed to returning to our normal operations and minimize any unfortunate inconvenience to our passengers. Where flights have been cancelled, the airline will notify passengers through SMS and in such cases, passengers will be accommodated on first available alternative flight as soon as normal flight operations resume.

The Group CEO has apologized and appealed (on behalf of the airline) for the understanding of passengers while it works diligently to resume normal operations at the earliest

Wole Shadare