Senate Committee on Interior chair Adams Oshiomole has narrated his ordeal in the hands of Air Peace staff on Wednesday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The management of the airline had earlier in the day, alleged that the former Edo governor arrived the Zulu Hall “at approximately 6:10 a.m. for Flight P47120 scheduled to depart Lagos for Abuja at 6:30 a.m.” and that “in line with our standard on-time departure policy, the boarding process had closed, and the flight departed as scheduled.”
The domestic carrier which alleged that the lawmaker, after missing the flight, assaulted staff and blocked access to its terminal, thereby disrupting flight operations, described his conduct as “unruly” and “unbecoming”.
Narrating his side of the story in Abuja, Mr Oshiomhole, later in the day, denied the allegation.
“I didn’t disrupt anything. I refused to let them ‘sort me out’ while others were left stranded. They offered to help me once they recognised me. I said, don’t help me, enforce my rights like every other Nigerian. That’s the real problem, big men get sorted, and the rest of Nigerians are ignored. If speaking out makes me a troublemaker, then I’ll cause trouble forever,” the senator representing Edo North stated.
Mr Oshiomhole added, “Yesterday, 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.”
The politician who stated that he had business class tickets for himself and an aide, said the aide was allowed onboard but he was not. He said the situation caused him to incur a hotel bill of N1.5 million for himself and two other stranded passengers.
Although he “arrived before 6:00 a.m. for a 6:30 a.m. flight, having checked in online by 7:46 p.m., the previous night,” to get into the flight on time, Mr Oshiomhole said Air Peace blocked him and other passengers from boarding.
“I got there at about five minutes past six. They told me the counter was closed. I told them, ‘No, I’ve already checked in.’ 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,” said Mr Oshiomhole. “They looked at it but still said the gate had been closed. Meanwhile, I noticed they were still taking other people in. So I asked, ‘How can you close boarding for a 6:30 flight at 6:05? What is the purpose of online check-in, then?’ If I had to go through another check-in process, then what’s the point of checking in online?”
The former governor also mentioned that “while speaking to them, I saw many men and women who had been there even before me, with similar experiences.”
Mr Oshiomhole accused Air Peace workers of “selling tickets on the spot at higher prices.”
“I’ll 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,” stated the politician. “They told her she was late and that the counter had closed for check-in. She said that was impossible, as it wasn’t even 6:00 a.m. They told her she would be put on the next flight. She protested, saying, ‘Why? Put me on this flight.’ But they told her the flight was full and she would have to wait.”
The politician added, “I 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.”
