By Our Reporter<\/p>\n
Senator Adams Oshiomhole has denied allegations of disrupting Air Peace operations, insisting instead that he rejected preferential treatment and stood up against what he described as systemic extortion and poor customer service by Nigerian airlines.
\nAir Peace had issued a statement where it accused Oshiomhole of allegedly disrupting airport operations after missing a scheduled flight.
\nThe Airline operators alleged that Oshiomole had reportedly arrived late for Flight P47120, which was scheduled to depart for Abuja at 6:30 a.m.
\nHowever, briefing journalist in Abuja on Wednessday, Oshiomhole, a former Edo State Governor and current senator representing Edo North, said his recent experiences with Air Peace highlighted the growing impunity and disregard for passengers\u2019 rights in the country\u2019s aviation sector.
\nSpeaking with journalists showing visible documented evidence and videos, the senator said on Tuesday, he arrived at the airport at 6:10 p.m. for a 6:50 p.m. flight but was denied a boarding pass, even though he had met the airline\u2019s check-in deadline of 30 minutes before departure.
\n\u201cYesterday, I got to the airport 40 minutes ahead. My luggage was already checked in. But they told me they had stopped issuing boarding passes. Meanwhile, I saw others arriving after me who were allowed to board,\u201d he said.
\nDespite holding business class tickets for himself and an aide, who he said was allowed to board, Oshiomhole was turned back. He lamented the arbitrary application of airline policies, which he said left him with a hotel bill of N1.5 million to accommodate himself and two stranded Ghanaian passengers.
\nAttempting to fly with Air Peace the next morning, Oshiomhole said he \u201carrived before 6:00 a.m. for a 6:30 a.m. flight, having checked in online by 7. 46pm, the previous night.\u201d
\nHe was again denied boarding, alongside other passengers who were confused by a last-minute change in check-in policy from 30 to 45 minutes before departure.
\n\u201cI got there at about five minutes past six. They told me the counter was closed. I told them, \u2018No, I\u2019ve already checked in.\u2019 I showed them the evidence of my online check-in. Even before then, they had asked if I had checked in, and I told them yes, and that I had no luggage. They looked at it but still said the gate had been closed. Meanwhile, I noticed they were still taking other people in.
\n\u201cSo I asked, \u2018How can you close boarding for a 6:30 flight at 6:05? What is the purpose of online check-in, then?\u2019 If I had to go through another check-in process, then what\u2019s the point of checking in online?\u201d
\nHe explained, \u201cWhile speaking to them, I saw many men and women who had been there even before me, with similar experiences. Basically, they were selling tickets on the spot at higher prices. I\u2019ll give you an example. A lady bought her ticket for N146,000 online. She arrived at the airport at 5:55 a.m. for the 6:30 a.m. flight, after the gatemen had delayed her.
\n\u201cThey told her she was late and that the counter had closed for check-in. She said that was impossible, as it wasn\u2019t even 6:00 a.m. They told her she would be put on the next flight. She protested, saying, \u2018Why? Put me on this flight.\u2019 But they told her the flight was full and she would have to wait.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, the airline was selling tickets on the spot for N250,000. To take advantage of the situation, they discouraged those who had bought tickets online at lower rates and sold to people willing to pay more.
\n\u201cI was told the counter had closed. But people were still being allowed to buy new tickets at higher prices. Those of us who had booked online for N146,000 were told we were late, while they sold new tickets for N250,000. That is not policy enforcement, it is extortion,\u201d he said.
\nRejecting claims that he caused a disruption, Oshiomhole said he remained calm but firm, and only intervened when a crowd of stranded passengers, including women with babies, began to protest.
\nThe senator explained, \u201cI didn\u2019t disrupt anything. I refused to let them \u2018sort me out\u2019 while others were left stranded. They offered to help me once they recognised me. I said, don\u2019t help me, enforce my rights like every other Nigerian,\u201d he said.
\nHe criticized what he called the \u201cVIP culture of impunity,\u201d where influential people are offered personalized solutions while ordinary citizens suffer.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the real problem, big men get sorted, and the rest of Nigerians are ignored. If speaking out makes me a troublemaker, then I\u2019ll cause trouble forever,\u201d he said.
\nHe explained further, \u201cI asked the manager, \u2018What is this woman\u2019s crime? She has a baby that\u2019s no more than six months old.
\n\u201cHow can you refuse to board her when the aircraft is still on the ground and more people are buying tickets?\u2019 You cannot continue like this. Tomorrow, everyone will blame the government.
\n\u201cYou have regulatory agencies, and they are all compromising. You cannot board people buying tickets on the spot and deny those who booked days ago or checked in online.\u201d
\n\u201cBy the time the DSS and Air Force personnel came to find out what happened, they intervened and offered to put the woman on the next flight, the same offer they had made to me earlier. But to board that next flight, they told her she would have to pay N109,100. This was in addition to the original N146,000 ticket, meaning she would spend about N256,000 for a one-hour flight to Abuja. There were many others in the same situation, and everyone was shouting at the airport.
\n\u201cI said to the manager, \u2018You must follow the rules.\u2019 Many people were stranded, except those who could afford another ticket. I followed the woman to the counter and told her to do whatever they asked. Those of us who were also prevented from flying gathered there. Even when an officer offered me access to a lounge, people around said, \u2018Comrade, please don\u2019t leave\u2014this is how they\u2019ve been treating us.\u2019
\n\u201cI had to send that woman N500,000. That\u2019s basically what happened. I told them this cannot be allowed. I checked in online and arrived on time. The aircraft hadn\u2019t taken off. I\u2019m not supposed to check in twice. The rowdiness arose because many people were denied boarding while tickets were being sold on the spot to others.\u201d
\nOshiomhole questioned the oversight role of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and called on the federal government to intervene.
\nHe stated, \u201cHow can you profit from your own inefficiency? This is ruthless, primitive capitalism. Nigerians are unprotected. The government must act.\u201d
\nHe warned that continued injustice and exploitation could lead to deeper public anger and unrest.
\nHe said, \u201cWhen people give up hope, bullets will not stop them. The least a government can do is to protect its citizens from.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Reporter Senator Adams Oshiomhole has denied allegations of disrupting Air Peace operations, insisting instead that he rejected preferential treatment and stood up against what he described as systemic extortion and poor customer service by Nigerian airlines. Air Peace had issued a statement where it accused Oshiomhole of allegedly disrupting airport operations after missing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[1492,3130,3131,3132],"class_list":["post-4797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-economy","category-politics","tag-allegations","tag-disrupting","tag-intervened","tag-unprotected"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4799,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797\/revisions\/4799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}