Aggrieved passengers disrupt operations at Arik headquarters

Some aggrieved passengers of Arik Air on Wednesday afternoon disrupted operations at the corporate headquarters of Arik Air within the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

At least 20 passengers besieged the office to demand a refund of their fares following the cancellation of flights.

They were prevented from gaining access into the airline premises, as the main gate was barricaded by security operatives with a Toyota Hiace bus marked Abuja: BWR 641 GA.

Emma Okeniyi, One of the passengers, told NAN that he purchased a one-way ticket from Lagos to Abuja in December 2016 for N23,000, but the flight was later cancelled.

“They told me that the airline used to pay refunds on Wednesday and Friday, but today I came and we were not allowed entrance into the premises.”

Another passenger, who simply gave her name as Bamidele, said she bought tickets to Johannesburg, South Africa in December 2016 for N800,000 and Arik Air cancelled the flight.

She accused the airline of being insensitive to her plights, saying no effort was being made to refund her money.

Another passenger who declined to give her name said the airline owed her N70,000 since July 2016 when her flight to Abuja was cancelled.

“I have been coming here since then, but they keep giving me excuses,” she said.

“Today, they said there was nobody to attend to us and they kept us outside.”

When contacted, Ola Adebanji, Arik air communication manager, told NAN that ticket refund was normal practice in the airline business.

Adebanji said the airline was working toward resolving the issue.