Yuletide: Passengers suffer untold hardship at airports

…Airlines hike fares by over 100 per cent, cancel flights …’When there is high demand for a product, there is tendency for price to increase’ Passengers across the country have continued to suffer untold hardship in the hands of airlines in the country following series of cancellations and poor passenger treatment. In spite of the sky rocketing fares charged by these airlines this yuletide season, poor passenger treatment has continued to be on the increase. Many travellers especially those heading to the Eastern part of the country have been subjected to all kind of stress after paying the over hundred percent increase in airfare. Before the festive period, from Lagos to Owerri cost about N25, 000 but between last week and now the same route attracts between N55, 000 and N70, 000 on the economy class. In all, couple with the weather, the airlines have continued to suffer passengers as they are unable to meet their demands after over booking passengers on line without having enough operating aircraft to ferry them. An anonymous passenger on Air Peace flight from Abuja to Lagos on Christmas eve, after buying economy ticket for N55, 000, they were delayed for nine hours after which he bought an Aero Contractors ticket and the airline but was also disappointed as he was informed that the operating aircraft was coming from Kano. According to him, the aircraft finally came against scheduled, he boarded and landed in Lagos at about one o’clock in the early morning. It was however gathered that the Christmas rush led to increase in airfare across all the routes especially the Eastern routes which was over booked as at the of November Kingsley Ezenwa, the image maker of Dana airline told Daily Times that the airline has to make alternative arrangements by providing additional flights to meet their challenges. “When there is high demand for a product, there is tendency for price to increase. The eastern routes have been super this season and have been sold out late November and early December but what we did was to create additional flights to cater to the needs of our guests” Ezenwa explained that Dana fares remained comparatively pocket friendly even with the upsurge in traffic. Chris Iwarah, Communications manager Air Peace while reacting said delays by Air Peace has been minimal as it is impossible to totally eliminate delays in aviation. According to him, it is like a circle and once it affects one, it affects all adding that the airline has been having a lot of weather issues going to Asaba, Benin, Akure, Owerri and sometimes Enugu as a result of the harmattan haze. Iwarah explained that if there was any delay in any of the stations mentioned above, it will definitely affect others but added that the airlines when notice these lapses deployed its Embraer to the affected routes and returned empty since it was not meant for the route. Iwarah said cancellations were carried out based on safety adding that Air Peace will not compromise on standards. He noted that fares were not increased but as a result of the economic situation on ground saying that the increase was not more than a thousand naira compare with that of last year stressing that the airline was out to serve the travelling public. Some of the air travellers who spoke on the issue said there were disappointed with the way and manner airline operators run their businesses in the country without considering the plight of passengers especially during festive season. They regretted the absence of a national carrier in the country and urged the government to revisit the issue in order to save the country’s aviation industry. They noted that with national carrier, other domestic airlines will not take passengers for granted. It is a standard recommended practice that inclement weather especially during the harmattan haze where visibility is poor that flights are cancelled but most airlines in the country cancel flights without cogent reasons but base their own on operational reason especially as a result of shortage of operating aircraft. A former Nigeria Airways worker, who simply gave his name as Tobias recalled how the then Nigeria Airways rescued stranded passengers especially outside the shores of the country. He noted that it was not as bad as it is now with the emergence of private domestic airlines in the country charging high fares without considering passengers welfare. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has earlier waned airlines to adhere strictly to safety regulations and standards recommended practices especially during the harmattan period. Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo, Lagos