The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced that it is initiating maximum enforcement action against Kenya Airways for a large number of consumer protection infractions.

This was after MyNigeria reported about the airlines disregard for the NCAA directives regarding a Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, who was left stranded in Nairobi, Kenya.

The airline had stated that Omisore was stranded because she lacked a Shenghen visa that would have added her travel to Europe which was her destination.

However, at a meeting with the NCAA Spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, the airline admitted that they should never have boarded the passenger from Lagos.

Achimugu said in a statement, "The airline failed to discover the lack of a France transit visa and flew this passenger to Nairobi where she had a 17-hour layover, only to be told that she would have to endure a further 10-hour wait if she must be flown to the UK.

"Passenger then asks to be provided care for that 10-hour period as she is bleeding and needs to bathe. The actions of the airline staff following her request were down to poor passenger handling. Gloria Omisore was not an unruly passenger on the first leg of the flight, nor was she rude on the Lagos-Nairobi flight."

Kenya Airways had issued a statement which misrepresented the incident in Nairobi that led to an exchange between Omisore and a staff of the airline.

According to Achimugu, facts of the matter were put to the airline, adding that the NCAA rejected the misleading official statement put out by them.

"The determination was for the airline to update its initial statement to reflect the facts of the case. There has been no compliance. Rather, the original statement that obfuscated facts, in all of its royal 'misleading-ness', has been allowed to grow wings and fly.

"Take the blog post by one Charles Onyango-Obbo for instance. The writer still asserts that Gloria Omisore blatantly refused the offer to fly to London. This lie is being told despite the admission of Kenya Airways Country Manager in Nigeria, James Nganga, that the passenger only became frustrated when the 10-hour wait attached to that offer did not come with accommodation.

"This was a bleeding woman who had already experienced the inconvenience of a 17-hour layover. She needed to clean up, possibly have a bathe. If the airline was not going to provide the care, its staff could have handled the matter professionally. In the viral video, the airline's staff could be heard hurling insults and raising her voice in response to the infuriated passenger.

"James Nganga admitted in one of the videos below, that the staff's behaviour was against airline policy.

"The writer also claimed that the meeting between my team and the airline held in Lagos. Simple research would have told him that the NCAA HQ is in Abuja. This is what happens when people are more interested in narrative-creation rather than facts. They know their audience," he said.

MyNigeria reported that the NCAA gave the airline 48 hours to issue an apology and a statement reflecting the true incident in Nairobi.

According to Achimugu, "The airline has failed to do so."

He said earlier yesterday, the airline asked for an extension of one hour, after which they still failed to comply with the determination of the NCAA.

"On Thursday, in a separate issue, the airline failed to send in a compliance report about a scheduled flight that was delayed for seven hours with no compensation for the passengers.

"When confronted over a phone call, the Kenya Airways team claimed ignorance of the NCAA Regulations. We are sending them a copy of it. But, how can you operate in a foreign country with no recourse to the relevant regulations? How is this different from those who claimed that Omisore should have known the travel documents she needed for her trip?

"To this end, we are organising a retreat for ALL airlines operating in Nigeria to learn and relearn Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023. One would expect that knowledge of all necessary regulations is essential.

"Added to the other long-ignored cases read out to the KQ team that attended the meeting, the CAA is dismayed by the actions of this airline. Cases of refunds not paid, lost baggage not compensated for despite admitting to losing them, and failure to honour commitments.

"The NCAA is, therefore, initiating stiff enforcement action against Kenya Airways. This action will go through due process. I have put our legal department on notice," Achimugu concluded.