Air Peace says did not abandon passengers at Owerri airport

Sade Williams/Business a.m.

Air Peace management has denied claims by a passenger that it engaged in ticket racketeering and abandoned passengers at Owerri Airport on Sunday.

The airline described the claim as not only false but also an outrageous claim.

According to the airline,  “the passenger who made this spurious claim came late to the airport after check-in had closed in accordance with the regulations, adding that it was not true that the passenger was there an hour to the departure time.”

It clarified further that “It is standard regulatory practice that check-in for domestic flights closes 45 minutes before departure. The said flight was our 12:20pm Owerri – Lagos Flight of yesterday, Sunday, April 7, 2024. Check-in for that flight closed at exactly 11:35 am and boarding protocols started almost immediately, and the flight was airborne at exactly the departure time of 12:20pm.

“It is absolute malicious falsehood for this passenger to claim that we overlooked our bonafide Air Peace passengers while selling tickets to Dana Airlines and United Nigeria Airlines stranded passengers while the said Air Peace bonafide passengers looked on.

“Again, the passenger gave the impression that a whole lot of passengers who came on time were abandoned. This is an untrue statement and can be verified as we never left any passenger who was there before counter closure behind.

“It has become a pastime for some passengers to whip up unnecessary sentiments and falsehoods each time they come late to the airport.

“While we appreciate the passenger’s patronage and empathise with them for the inconveniences suffered as a result of their late arrival to the airport counter, it must be stressed that Air Peace takes on-time departure of flights quite seriously and we do everything possible to ensure full adherence to regulatory standards. No compromises,” the airline stated.