Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has expressed extreme concern over the rising frequency of violent attacks on airport staff and facilities by unruly passengers, and has thus called on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to improve security at airports across the country.
According to a recent statement by AON, “We feel the pain and frustration of travellers over delayed or cancelled flights due to the disruptions such bring to their plans, but make good to remind the public that no airline operator deliberately delays or cancels flights because the aircraft is meant to be in the air and not on ground. We believe that the trend of violent attacks on airline staff and facilities has to stop. We therefore use this medium to call on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to improve security across airports, especially as relates to the security of airline staff and property.”
The statement goes on to say that the Operators will not continue to rest on their laurels while rampant violent attacks perpetrated by passengers go unabated, as airline staff also have rights that must be respected.
In addition, AON advices that disgruntled passengers should abstain from using violence as a means of expressing their discontent but rather, they should apply the Nigerian Civil Aviation Agency’s (NCAA) recommendations on the issue, or seek justice through the Consumer Protection Council, as retaliating with violence only exposes the weaknesses of airport security systems, which in turn taints our image as a country.
It can be recalled that AON recently released a statement enlightening the general public on the plethora of causes of flight delays and cancellations – causes it says have a ripple effect on the system. Noteworthy is the fact that unruly passenger behaviour was among the said causes of delays, and experts opined that passenger experience will be 80% better if the authorities concerned could address the external issues causing these delays and cancellations.
AON has reiterated its members’ commitment to delivering on-time flight operations, but remains unequivocal in its strong condemnation of the pugnacious attacks on airline staff and airport facilities which have become nearly omnipresent at our domestic airports in recent times.
