NCAA to sanction Arik over passengers’ luggage
…..Airline to pay each customer $150
…We were constrained to use smaller airplane-Airline
For allegedly failing to deliver passengers’ luggage, the nation’s aviation regulatory body, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it would sanction Arik.
The carrier disclosed that the airline failed to ferry passengers’ luggage over 48 hours after arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
The director, Consumer Protection, NCAA, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu disclosed this in an interview with journalists at the International wing of the Lagos airport shortly after addressing stranded irate Arik passengers said, the airline has violated the Montreal convention of 1999.
But the airline in a statement by its spokesman, Banji Ola gave reasons why passengers’ baggage on its Lagos – Heathrow, London has been delayed for three days, citing use of a smaller aircraft on the route.
Ola said the carrier had to deploy a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route because its Airbus 330 -200 aircraft allocated to the route is undergoing maintenance.
Ola said the airline was constrained in capacity from the wide body aircraft to a narrow body airplane for it the airline to leave passengers’ baggage behind.
In a statement Tuesday, the airline clarified:” Over the past three days, Arik Air has been using a smaller aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, to operate the Lagos-London Heathrow route due to maintenance on the wide-body A330-200 aircraft allocated on the route.
Speaking further on the plan to sanction the carrier, Abdullahi said under normal circumstances, the passengers ought to have arrived with their luggage but regretted that over two days after arrival, their luggage were yet to arrive.
He announced a fine of $150 on Arik per passenger in accordance with the Montreal convention.
“The compensation for delayed luggage according to Montreal Convention of 1999 is S150 dollars Arik has failed in its duty because that compensation should have come the moment the passenger lands without his bag. They have not done that and they are agreeing with the passengers who agreed to waived part of his right to collect $50 as against to $150.”
“We have also directed Arik to bring in the balance of their luggage for all passengers in the next 24 hours, we have written Arik in that direction and they are complying but that does not stop sanction because violation has taken place.”
“One of the airline’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft had been hit by a handling company at John F Kennedy International Airport New York on Thursday, December 1, 2016 consequently triggering the B737-800 to be deployed on the Lagos-London route.
Abdullahi who described the action of the airline as a national embarrassment appealed to passengers to bear with NCAA adding, that if the full sanction was applied that it will bring down the airlines but assured that the airline will definitely pay for the consequences of their action.
He warned all airlines both domestic and foreign that sanction will be meted out to them in the case of luggage default.
At the time of this report, arrangement was being made to get launch and accommodation for the stranded passengers.
There was no official of Arik on ground but the managing director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma led other airport officials to calm down the irate passengers who threatened to deal with Arik staff .
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