Passengers: Airlines’ punching bag

 

Passengers are seen burst into tears, vent their anger on airline staffs, threaten actions when they are maltreated by airlines, writes, WOLE SHADARE

 

Shabby treatment

Never a time had Nigerians protested alleged matreatment by airlines especially foreign airlines than late last year when they could no longer accept the shabby treatment meted out to them.

The People with Disabilities (PWDs), had in November last year said that they would institute litigations against any airlines that maltreat, discriminate, or marginalize any physically challenged person while boarding plane in the country.

Grace Jerry of Inclusive Friends Association, and Lois Auta of Ceda Seed Foundation, said they were considering taking the action due to ill-treatment meted to their members by airlines.

According to them, PWDs and others have suffered a similar fate, which most often leaves passengers with disabilities stranded, and even frustrated on arrival at their destinations.

Many a times, passengers arrive without their luggage. This has become a reoccurence with some airlines and one that has drawn the ire of the Nigerian authorities.

FG talks tough

Just recently, Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika in the wake of Turkish Airlines penchant for disregards for Nigerians’ passenger right said that no foreign airline operator will henceforth be allowed to treat Nigerian travellers with disdain.

The minister further warned other airline operators to take a cue from the recent Turkish Airlines’ experience.

“Following the threat by the nation’s aviation regulators to ban its operations in Nigeria, Turkish Airlines last night flew into Abuja with a bigger aircraft A330 as against the usual smaller B737.

“Officials of the airline, alarmed by the prospect of losing their Nigerian market, had rushed into a meeting with the Nigerian authorities to pledge total commitment,” he said.

The minister also noted that the organisation had tried to comply with the conditions given to it in order to continue its operations in Nigeria,

According to him, Turkish airlines has been notorious for the shabby treatment of Nigerian travellers over time.

He added that such behaviours by the airline had always given rise to security issues at the airports with protests by affected passengers.

 

Turkish first offence

In April 2017 for instance, Turkish Airlines, a Middle East carrier, abandoned no fewer than 22 Nigerian students of Glisten International College, Abuja between the ages of 11 and 15 at Istanbul Ataturk Airport.

The students that departed Nigeria through Abuja Airport went to the United States for a competition, but were made to sleep for at least three nights on the floor of the Ataturk Airport on their return leg.

Apart from being compelled to sleep on the bare floor of the airport terminal, the students also paid the sum of $40 each, which amounted to $880 before they could be allowed to access the resting area of the airport.

It, however, took the intervention of NCAA and some top government officials in Nigeria before the students could be offered befitting accommodation in Turkey, offer public apology after the initial denial by the management of the airline in Nigeria and Turkey and airlifted the stranded students back to Nigeria.

The apology letter was written and signed by Mr. Gokhan Cetin, the General Manager of the airline in Nigeria. Cetin in the letter dated May 2, 2017, admitted the poor handling of the Nigerian delegates in Istanbul, but was on the defensive as to its action.

Ignorance

Many passengers are ignorant of the technicalities of aircraft operations. Those, who have knowledge of airline operations, would tell you that checking in your luggage at take off point is not a guarantee that the luggage would be airlifted with you. So, there is always the likelihood of you arriving at your destination before your luggage, especially when the aircraft is a passenger carrier and is loaded to full capacity.

A recent incident in Abuja, where some passengers came together to besiege the Tarmac and they prevented a Turkish aircraft from taking off, indicated that many Nigerian air passengers still don’t know their rights and the way aviation works.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said an airline involved in short landing of passengers’ luggage is not violating either local or international aviation laws, provided adequate compensation is paid to the affected passengers.

Not a few Nigerian air travellers on international routes with foreign carriers have a sad tale to tell from the airlines they booked and willingly chose to fly with.

Abuse

From physical to emotional abuse, threats, maltreatments on board and on ground, before and after boarding, poor in-flight services, the bad treatments of the country’s citizens know no bounds.

Domestic airlines are also not spared as they carry on as if they are they do favour by flying passengers from one point to the other.

In the aviation industry where air travel business is highly competitive, marketing activities are inevitably vital to ensure competitive edge and most airlines are doing just about anything in order to remain relevant and still meet the ever dynamic needs of the passengers.

Studies have shown that for these airlines to survive the competition in their industry, they need to take their marketing very seriously. The global world of business today is a very dynamic one, in order to satisfy the changing needs of customers, organisations must first know their needs and ensure such needs are met with the services they provide.

In the airline industry, passengers pay higher fares at airports for on-spot purchases where a single carrier controls a high fraction of traffic.

Competition as survival strategy

For airlines to survive in today’s competitive market, it has to treat the marketing drive of its business with top priority to ensure adequate business performance.

Various studies have discovered that air travellers lament poor customer service by Nigerian airlines. findings reveal that most passengers condemned the airline operators for persistent flight delays, missing luggage, poor customer service by front desk officers of airlines, among others.

Last line

Thus, Airline company managers in Nigeria are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that their services are superb and customer-focused.

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