The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has promised fairness over the Ibom Air incident involving a passenger and cabin crew, but warned that “unruly” behaviour will be dealt with within the ambit of the law.
“The point I am trying to make is that no matter the provocation, rest assured that you can always file your complaints with the NCAA, and it will be dealt with,” NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mike Achimugu, told Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. “Self-help is not permissible in aviation anywhere.”
“On our part, we will ensure to see the end of it and that there is fairness on every side,” Achimugu said one day after the incident.
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 said she “bluntly refused to comply until the Pilot-in-Command made an announcement, after which a fellow passenger seated beside her took the phone and switched 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.
