The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has assured that it will handle the Ibom Air incident fairly, which involved a passenger and the cabin crew, but warn that any unruly behavior will be addressed in accordance with the law.
Mike Achimugu, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, stated.
“Regardless of the situation, passengers can file complaints with the NCAA, and they will be resolved appropriately. Taking matters into your own hands is not acceptable in aviation.”
“On our part, we will ensure to see the end of it and that there is fairness on every side,” Achimugu said.
On Monday, videos of the altercation between the passenger, Comfort Emmanson, and the airline’s staff went viral.
She was spotted assaulting one of the Uyo Lagos flight crew, with security officials later intervening.
The airline said Emmanson was asked to put off her mobile devices just before takeoff in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
However, Ibom Air stated that she “flatly refused to comply until the Pilot in Command made an announcement, prompting a fellow passenger seated next to her to take the phone and turn it off.”
This resulted in a verbal tirade from the passenger, who, upon arrival in Lagos, confronted
“The Purser who had earlier instructed her, she walked up to the unsuspecting Purser, stepped on her, forcibly tore off her wig, removed her glasses, threw them to the floor, and used her footwear to assault her”.
A no fly ban was imposed on the passenger over the incident, and she was also charged to court, a move Achimugu said ‘is not a crime.’
According to him, the airline and the passenger can decide to settle the issue amicably if both parties choose that path.
He, however, asked passengers to obey instructions from members of the cabin crew, warning that unruly behaviours have far reaching consequences.
Monday’s incident comes days after a Fuji artiste, Wasiu Ayinde, popularly known as K1 De Ultimate, was banned by the NCAA for six months over his unruly behaviour at the Abuja airport.
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