Consumer Protection Council To Sanction Arik Airline for Aledged Inhuman Treatment Of Passangers

 

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has taken Arik Airline to task over its reported ill-treatment of passengers on its New York-bound flight WT3107 penultimate Monday.

The airline was reported to have kept the passengers on board the fligt for about one and a half hours under suffocating condition due to the breakdown of its air-conditionering system.

According to the reports, the Arik Air flight WT3107 of  March 31 from Lagos to JFK airport in New York was delayed in Lagos from a scheduled departure time of 11.50p.m. till 1.20a.m. on April 1 under suffocating conditions as the air conditioner of the plane did not function.

The report pointed out that the extreme discomfort led to some passengers taking off their clothing due to the unbearable heat and that their request to disembark while the problem lasted was ignored.

The CPC has, however, taken up the complaints of the affected passengers as it demanded a full brief of the incident from the airline to enable it take an informed decision on the case.

The council, in its letter dated April 10, directed the airline “to provide a full report of the alleged incident on or before April 17” since it would not want to “draw conclusions from media reports.”

Meanwhile, the Director General of the council, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, has assured passengers of the affected flight that the agency’s intervention would ensure adequate redress for the alleged consumer abuse.

She expressed the commitment of her administration to the adequate protection of Nigerian consumers of all products and services, stressing that providers of goods and services in the country must exhibit best ethical practices in all their interactions with consumers.