NCAA To Prosecute Ibom Air Passenger For Holding Plane Hostage Over Baggage Dispute, Leading To Flight Cancellation
According to him, the passenger also caused Ibom Air millions of naira plus a serious scheduling conundrum.
Apassenger on a recent Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Abuja will face prosecution for allegedly holding the flight hostage, resulting in its cancellation.
According to the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Michael Achimugu, the actions of the female passenger “ensured that 89 other passengers on board lost valuable time, money, and opportunities”.
“On Wednesday, 08/01/2025, an Ibom Air flight scheduled to depart Uyo for Abuja at 1730hrs was viciously disrupted by a single passenger’s unruly behaviour,” he said.
According to him, the passenger also caused Ibom Air millions of naira plus a serious scheduling conundrum.
Narrating the incident in a post on his X account, Achimugu said, “All passengers had been informed during check-in that, due to weight restrictions, some or all of their luggage may not arrive on the same flight.
“Passengers with luggage above 20kg signed indemnity forms in this regard, while those whose bags were in the region of 20kg were informed verbally that their bags would arrive on the next scheduled flight. They agreed, including this passenger.
“After boarding, she noticed that her bag was not among the luggage loaded into the bowels of the aircraft. She angrily stepped down from the aircraft and insisted that her bags be loaded. Otherwise, nobody was going to fly.
“Even the intervention of FAAN AVSEC {(Aviation Security (AVSEC) department of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)} and the pilot did not let her budge. The pilot offered to carry her checked in bag in the cabin, but the size did not fit.
“All the while, the pilot was taking note of the time because Uyo was a sunset airport, and the airspace would be shut down any moment.
“AVSEC then explained to the angry passenger that she would have to be deboarded if she refused to travel without the bag. She asked to be allowed to pick her handbag from the cabin, only to get in there and block the aisle, insisting that the flight would not depart without her bags.
“Among the 89 other passengers was an infant and a chef who was travelling to provide paid service to a big client in Abuja.
“Despite all pleas, she held the plane hostage until the airspace was closed. Consequently, the pilot had to announce a cancellation of the flight.
“It was at that moment that other passengers became irate. Had AVSEC and Ibom Air personnel led by Amaka Echetabu not been on top of their game, the unruly passenger would have been lynched.”
Achimugu claimed that the “timely intervention” saved the passenger’s life.
He said, “The airline had to provide immediate refreshment, transportation for passengers who were resident in Uyo, and hotel accommodation for those who came from out of town at great and avoidable cost.
“This means that the airline would have catered twice for the same flight. Added to this was the fact that a scheduling challenge has now been created automatically, one that will take days to normalize. For an industry where profit margins are extremely thin, this was very avoidable.”
According to him, the passenger’s reason for behaving that was because in December, her luggage was delayed as well.
“She didn’t want a repeat of that situation,” he said.
He noted that “Ibom Air did, in fact, deliver her bags to her” and “ensured that they got to her all the way in Aba!”
He said, “If the airline has proven its efficiency by bringing your luggage to you in a city where there was no airport just last month, by what antecedent do you insist they’d not deliver to Abuja this time? Why agree to this at the check-in counter, only to become unmanageably unruly during boarding?
“Flight Operations have weight restrictions. In festive seasons, people travel with more luggage than they normally would. Airlines are allowed to short-land baggage so long as: They inform the passenger, the passenger is paid their first needs compensation on arrival and the bags arrive on the earliest possible flight.
“The regulations state firmly that no provocation justifies violence at the airport. Certain acts, especially holding up the movement of an aircraft through means of violence, could be interpreted as terrorism depending on the severity (to be determined by the police).”
“The passenger is being prosecuted to court. The NCAA continues to educate stakeholders about unruly behaviour and the penalties it attracts,” he added.
