Passenger Berates Arik Air Over Poor Services

Mrs Damilola Oni, a passenger of Arik Air has berated the airline for the unsatisfying service rendered to her and her family which caused them to miss their flight.

Oni disclosed this on Saturday in a telephone interview with newsmen in Lagos.

She said that she and her family were supposed to have travelled to Abuja from Lagos on Tuesday for a 7 a.m flight to arrive their destination by 8 a.m.

"However, we missed the flight because of the incompetent and insensitive attitude of their staff which resulted in us missing our flight.

"We got to the airport by 6.30 a.m for a 7 a.m flight and we were told that the counter had closed even though we bought business-class ticket which I believe is a priority ticket.

"Besides, I was with my 7-month old baby girl and some of the airport assistants were trying to let us get in while some of them refused.

"While all of this was going on, they were still selling tickets of that same flight to other persons," she said.

Oni said that she located the manager on duty for the airline and went to him to explain her ordeal but to her surprise, he was busy hand-writing a boarding pass for another passenger.

"I tried explaining my predicament to him but he was not ready to listen and he took the passenger that he was writing the boarding pass for to check-in and board the flight.

"I was also trying to talk to the lady at the counter but she was rude in her response," she said.

Oni said that she then requested to change the ticket to the 8 a.m flight so that they would still be able to travel that same day but still, they refused to change the ticket.

"We then asked for a refund but they refused to give us a refund saying that we booked online therefore, we must go online to collect our money.

"This is not the first time they have been doing this to us, Arik has been doing this over and over and I have had more than three experiences with evidence of delayed," she said.

Oni said that she came for a UNESCO programme in Lagos in 2022 where she bought a ticket for an 11 a.m flight which was changed to 11 p.m without duely notifying anybody about the changed schedule.

"Then on Dec.25, my husband was coming to Abuja for an 8 a.m flight but the flight never left that day for reasons we don't know and my husband had to fly with Aero Air last flight to Abuja.

"I have had issues again with Arik. I was to travel and booked Arik for a 2 p.m which didn't leave Abuja until about 7 p.m.

"So, these are some of my experiences with Arik and when you even want to talk to them about it, they all leave the counter and you would have nobody there to talk to you or explain things to you.

"For a flight of 7 am and I was there 30 minutes before the scheduled time and was refused is not fair." She said. 

Oni said that 'enough is enough' because the airline was fond of depriving people of flying for a little delay and still be selling ticket to people who are ready to pay for it. 

She that this act was not good and that the management should look into it.

"Arik should look for a way to stop disappointing their passengers especially when they want to travel with their airline.

"I urge those that have suffered flight disappointments with Arik to come out so that we can bring an end to this unsatisfying behavior once and for all," she said.

Meanwhile, the Duty Manager for Arik, Muritala Mohammed Airport I refused to disclose his name said that their was nothing he could do because Oni arrived late for departure.

He said he was simply following the laid down rules and regulations of the airline.