The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has confirmed legal action against an unnamed female passenger who obstructed an Abuja-bound Ibom Air flight, vowing she will face the full extent of the law.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Micheal Achimugu, on Monday explained that the irate passenger had been handed over to the police and also charged to Court.
He said will NCAA continue to educate stakeholders about unruly behaviour and the penalties it attracts.
According to him, the regulations state firmly that no provocation justifies violence at the airport. Certain acts, especially holding up the movement of an aircraft through means of violence, could be interpreted as terrorism depending on the severity (to be determined by the police).
“She was taken to the police and was in detention for two nights. She has been charged to court but granted bail. That was the last information I got from the airline and later today (Monday), I will get further information.”
Asked why she wasn’t deboarded to avoid holding other passengers to ransom, Achimugu said, “I intend to hold a meeting with Avsec and FAAN because there seems to be room for improvement in the protocols for handling unruly passengers.
“ It is when things like this happen that we see the lapses and areas where we need to improve. Because the response should have been quicker and the action should have also been faster.
“This that happened is preventable, very preventable. But no point at the moment excuses the woman for what she did and that is why she will face the full wrath of the law,” he said.
It was reported that an ‘unruly passenger’ stopped an aircraft from flying after the airline officials refused to carry her overweight luggage with her on the same flight.
The woman became furious upon discovering her bag had not been loaded onto the aircraft.
Despite pleas from different quarters, the angry passenger held the aircraft to ransom till the airport closed and the airline announced the flight cancellation.
