Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has intervened in the fracas between Air Peace and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North and former Governor of Edo State, over alleged boarding denial leading to altercations.
A viral video on Wednesday showed the Edo Senator and former Governor protesting access to board an Abuja-bound Air Peace flight at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1 ,Zulu Hall, Lagos.
Air Peace released a first statement alleging that the senator disrupted its activities and condemned the action in a statement titled, ‘Unruly Conduct by Prominent Politicians At Lagos Airport: Air Peace Reaffirms Zero Tolerance for Violence”.
“The prominent individual in question arrived at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1 ,Zulu Hall, at approximately 06:10 AM for Flight P47120 scheduled to depart Lagos for Abuja at 06:30 AM. In line with our standard on-time departure policy, the boarding process had closed, and the flight departed as scheduled”, the airline said.
However, Oshiomhole accused Air Peace of deliberately denying passengers boarding access despite valid check-ins, only to resell the same seats at inflated prices.
Sharing his side of the story, Oshiomhole alleged that passengers who checked in online were turned away under the pretext of late arrival, while others willing to pay higher fares reportedly up to N300,000 were allowed to board the same flight.
But the airline refuted the allegation, saying “The Senator lied blatantly when he accused Air Peace of extorting its passengers. We challenge Senator Oshiomole to bring one evidence of a passenger that was extorted.
“None of our staff ever extorted any passenger. In fact, no ticket was sold after the closure of check-in on that flight. Everyone who flew bought their ticket prior to the flight closure”.
Reacting to the matter, the Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection at NCAA, Michael Achimugu, said in a tweet that the NCAA has not received complaints from any of the parties.
However, he said that the aviation minister has intervened on the matter.
Achimugu said, “The NCAA can only get involved if the aggrieved parties file a complaint. As of this moment, no complaint has been sent to me. By law, the NCAA does not take up cases unless there is a complaint.
“The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, @fkeyamo, is already handling this case. The NCAA will not breach protocol.
“The NCAA has not made any statement, official or not, on this matter”.
