CPC fixes April 17 deadline for explanation from Arik Airline

The Custodian April 15, 2014

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has fixed April 17 as deadline for explanation from Arik Airline on the alleged inhuman treatment of passengers on its delayed New York bound flight WT3107.

The CPC Director General, Mrs Dupe Atoki, disclosed the deadline in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

She said that the flight billed for March 31 was delayed for about one hour and 30 minutes.

The Airline was reported to have kept the passengers of the flight on board for about one and half hours under suffocating condition due to the breakdown of its air conditioner.

Atoki said the council would not rely on a publication to draw conclusion on what had transpired, adding that she had demanded for a full brief of the incident from the Airline.

She explained that the brief would enable the council to take an informed decision on the case and further ensure that consumers got value for their money.

According to her, the council has taken up the complaints of the affected passengers and that the full brief from the Airline will enable it to take an informed decision on the case.

“In its quest to ensure that consumers gets value for their money, the council has written a letter directing Arik Airline to provide full report on the case on or before April 17, 2014.

“We will not want to draw conclusions from media reports.

“The Arik Air flight WT3107 billed for Lagos to JFK New York was delayed in Lagos from a scheduled departure time of 11.50 p.m. till 1.20 a.m. on April 1, 2014 under suffocating condition.

“The suffocation resulted from the failure of the flight’s air conditioner thereby leading to some passengers of the plane to remove their clothes due to unbearable heat,’’ she said.

Atoki, however, expressed the determination of the council to ensure adequate protection of the nation’s consumers of all products and services in the country.

She said that providers of goods and services must exhibit best ethical practise in all their interactions with consumers. (NAN)