- Turkish Airlines could be banned from flying to Nigeria
- Airline accused of repeatedly leaving passenger baggage behind
- In one case, 85% of passenger luggage was abandoned
- If remedial action isn’t taken the ban will be enforced from 16th December
Turkish Airlines could be banned from flying to Nigeria following an ultimatum from the country’s civil aviation authorities for the airline to improve its handling of passenger baggage. Officials claim Turkish Airlines has repeatedly left passenger baggage behind, prioritising cargo instead and causing nasty scenes at Nigerian airports when passengers realise what has happened.
If the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority goes ahead with its threat then Turkish Airlines will be barred from operating flights to and from the country as of Monday 16th December. The airline, however, has told local media that it has not been informed of the threat and that all flights are scheduled to operate as normal.
Turkish Airlines hasn’t publicly commented on the allegations.
On one recent flight, the airline is said to have left behind 85 per cent of passenger baggage at its hub in Istanbul. Rather than an isolated incident, officials claim this has now become a routine problem which is plaguing the airline’s operations to four airports in the country: Lagos, Kano, Abuja and Port Harcourt.
While the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports a decline in air cargo demand, there doesn’t appear to be any drop in demand for Turkish Airlines on its Nigerian routes.
Acting Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Abdullahi Sid of the Federal Ministry of Aviation voiced his displeasure at Turkish Airlines, saying the situation was causing serious problems at Nigeria’s airports.
“Our airport authority had been facing serious crises controlling the passengers at the airport whenever they arrived without their baggage. This issue had made passengers carry out several mob actions at our airport and it was a great threat to our airport facilities,” he explained.
“In view of all these, and a series of meetings held with the Turkish Airlines’ personnel, which did not yield any solution to this problem, the NCAA is therefore left with no option than to direct Turkish Airlines to suspend its operations into Nigeria until such a time when the airline is ready to operate with the right size of aircraft that can transport all passengers with their baggage at the same time.”
TOTH: live And Let Fly
