Trending Video: Air Peace refutes arrest of unruly Abuja-inbound
By Abisola THOMPSON
Air Peace on Wednesday refuted claims of a trending video that the airline arrested two unruly Abuja inbound passengers.
The airline’s Spokesperson, Mr Stanley Olisa, made this known in a statement issued in Lagos.
Olisa explained that the video protrayed the airline in a bad light on social media and it had become imperative that it clear the air and correct the impressions created.
The spokesperson explained that the passengers in the video were supposed to be on a 19:20 Lagos-Abuja flight on Tuesday but consequent upon tenable unforeseen operational concerns, the flight was delayed.
He said: “We have to put the 46 of them on a flight that departed at 19:16, leaving behind 46 passengers.
“The delay was professionally communicated to the passengers and we apologised for the delay and inconveniences.
“However, a certain male passenger, Paul Samuel, who suddenly became uncontrollably irate, assaulted our boarding officer. This was clearly unnecessary and despicable.
“We were about distributing refreshments in consonance with NCAA Regulations but Paul’s action disrupted the process and noise erupted from different quarters while he incited other passengers against the airline.
Olisa said the FAAN Security was notified as the passengers were now trying to gain entrance to the airfield even when the aircraft was not yet on ground.
According to him, FAAN Security was compelled to lock the Boarding Gate to prevent the passengers from going to the airfield, a highly regulated part of the airport.
Olisa noted that at 22:35, the airline called for boarding for the remaining 46 passengers due to his violent behaviour, Paul was arrested by FAAN Security.
He said the action was taken in the best interest of the passengers and the airline, while the lady, Okoroafor Rita, who recorded the video being circulated, without the consent of those being recorded, was arrested by FAAN Security.
The spokesperson said FAAN Security had repeatedly told her to stop recording but she did not.
Olisa said these arrests made some other passengers become unruly but with reinforcement from FAAN Security, the situation was managed, and the remaining passengers were able to board.
He noted that the arrests of Paul and Rita were done by FAAN Security in line with their standard procedures.
The airline official apologised for the inconveniences experienced by the passengers last night as a result of the flight delay as it was caused by unavoidable operational factors.
He said Air Peace was committed to providing Nigerians safe and seamless connectivity across cities and will not deliberately delay flights.
