Air Peace has debunked reports claiming that it engaged in ticket racketeering and abandoned passengers at Owerri Airport on April 7, 2024.
In a statement by its spokesman, Mr Stanley Olisa, the airline said such information “is not only false but also an outrageous claim, malicious and deliberate.”
The carrier said the passenger who made the “spurious claim came late to the airport after check-in had closed in accordance with the regulations.”
“It was not true that the passenger was there an hour to the departure time.
“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 today, Sunday, April 7, 2024. Check-in for that flight closed at exactly 11:35am 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 bona fide Air Peace passengers while selling tickets to Dana Air and United Nigeria Airlines stranded passengers while the said Air Peace bona fide 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.
