The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has kicked against the ill-treatment meted out to passengers of Ethiopian Airlines of May 18, 2013 at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, describing it as a violation of international best practices.
The Council, in a release signed by the Spokesperson, Mr. Abiodun Obimuyiwa, called the airline to order, and said its reaction was based on several complaints received from passengers of the said flight, particularly those of the Business Class, who felt their rights were wantonly abused.
CPC, while noting, in its letter, that Ethiopian Airlines being the oldest African airline with record of international best practices displayed in other routes, wondered about the poor service delivery, which it said “is notoriously Nigerian specific”.
According to the agency, the passengers were not only shabbily treated by the airline’s ground staff members, they were made to go through harrowing check-in process, faulty weighing scale and indiscriminate boarding.
The Council pointed out that the process of checking in at the Business Class line was unnecessarily long and arduous and that “the complaint of passengers was met with an unapologetic wave of hand by the male supervisor on duty, passing off the fault to system failure”, stressing that when accosted about his insolent attitude by its Director General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, who was one of the passengers on the queue, he became confrontational, recalcitrant, and impenitent.
The agency disclosed further that its DG’s threat to file a complaint against the airline’s worker did not make him sober as he thundered back, saying ‘you can write whatever you please’ and that it took the intervention of other Business Class passengers, who were distraught with the conduct of the staff, to bring him and the acrimonious situation under control.
Some of the Business Class passengers on the queue, who were distraught with the conduct of the staff in question, included Mr. and Mrs Suraj Yakubu, former Executive Secretary of Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC); Ambassador, Prof. Okon Edet Uya, former Chairman National Electoral Commission and Member, African Union Panel of Eminent Person (APRM); Stephen Danyo of the World Bank; and Gary Offner from the USA, the Council stated further.
The agency also stated that “the weighing scale by the check in counter was faulty with the consequence that both Business and Economy passengers had to painfully queue on the same long line. “At the end of a gruesome check in process, passengers were boarded without regard to their class of tickets, contrary to international best practices thus generating a rowdy process”, it added.
While reminding the airline of its obligation to comply with all relevant national laws in the country, the Council called on its management to investigate the reported incident and report to it, to ensure the scale located by the check in counter is repaired to avoid passengers’ discomfort in wheeling their luggage to another part of the airport for weight check and to ensure that boarding process recognises the various classes of passengers with the priority attendant to such class.
Similarly, CPC recommended training of all the airline’s staff on acceptable service delivery in line with the contractual obligations of the airline and international best practices, stressing that “at all times, staff of ET must display expected courtesy and professionalism in their duty both in the normal course and during crisis situations”.
The Council said, in line with its mandate, it “will carry out monitoring visits to assess the implementation of these recommendations and calls on Ethiopian Airlines to ensure proper service delivery to all passengers in line with their obligation under the IATA”.
Culled from Thisday
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