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By Chinelo Obogo
An uncle to Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano, has written a petition to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) seeking punitive actions against Air Peace over the airline’s refusal to delay a flight for the monarch.
In a letter addressed to the NCAA on Thursday, Mr. Isa Bayero, described the refusal of Air Peace to delay the Lagos to Kano flight as an act of disrespect to the Emir and the people of Kano state.
In his petition, Bayero said their flight from Banjul to Lagos was late by over one hour, yet the airline refused to allow them board their connecting flight to Kano from Lagos after they arrived the state 30 minutes before departure time.
“Our departure from Banjul was scheduled for 00:10hrs (local time) on February 24, 2022, however, we departed Banjul at 01:19hrs and we landed at Lagos at 5:45 am. Our connecting flight to Kano on the same Air Peace airline was for 6:15 hrs. This gave us only 30 minutes to make our flight to Kano,” he said.
Bayero said he personally called the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, to inform request that the departing flight to Kano be delayed as a mark of respect to the “revered” Emir of Kano, saying that the delay was the fault of the airline but that Onyema flatly refused.
Bayero said despite having to check into a hotel at personal cost, the airline also requested them to pay a “no-show” fee when they wanted to rebook the next available flight of the airline which was by 7pm.
Responding to the petition, the Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide, said in a statement that the airline never disrespected the monarch, rather, they acted in his interest and to protect his image.
She said if the airline had agreed to delay an aircraft already set to take-off for another one hour, there would have been uproar in the media against both the airline and the Emir and for that, they pleaded with Mr. Bayero to understand the situation but he refused to accept their explanation.
“How could Isa Bayero want Air Peace to stop and delay a fully boarded plane with doors already shut and aircraft already moving while our respected Emir and eight others in his entourage, including Mr. Bayero, were still at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos after arriving from Banjul?
“From the telephone log evidence on the phone of our CEO, Mr. Bayero called at about 5.52am while the CEO was still asleep and called him again at 5.59am. When he took the call, Isa told our CEO that he and the Emir of Kano had just landed the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos from Banjul, Gambia and would be proceeding to Kano same morning. He told the CEO to delay our first flight of the day, the 6:15am Lagos-Kano flight for him, the Emir and eight others.
“It is not true that our CEO flatly refused. He rather told Mr. Bayero to give him a few minutes to call the airport to find out the status of the flight. He called me and I quickly called the local airport and was told that the aircraft had since finished boarding and was almost taxing out.
“I called Mr. Bayero and expressed our desire to put him, their entourage and the Emir of Kano on our 7.00am Lagos- Abuja flight and that on landing in Abuja, we would then put him on our flight going to Kano at no cost to them. but Mr. Bayero refused this offer. He insisted that the already taxing aircraft be stopped and delayed until the Emir and the other eight persons arrive from the international airport.
“At this point, Mr. Bayero and the Emir of Kano had just landed at the international wing of the airport, this means they would still need to go through immigration, get their baggage ans clear with Customs before entering the morning Lagos traffic to get to the local wing of the airport. This would mean that the passengers in the plane ready to depart would have to wait in the plane for nothing less than an hour.
“How this became a disrespectful action by Air Peace baffles us. We took this decision to protect the image of the highly revered Emir of Kano and not as an insult as insinuated by Mr. Bayero, because if passengers were delayed for an hour after boarding and ready to fly and then see the Emir and his entourage walk in, considering the pulse of the general public lately due to the complaints of delays, it would not have done justice to the image and character of the Emir.
“After explaining this to Mr. Bayero, he threatened he would incite the people of Kano against the airline if we do not stop the flight. When I reported this statement to the CEO, he did not believe me and insinuated that I may not have heard him right because Mr. Bayero was well acquainted with him and could not have said such.
“The Chairman of Air Peace has the highest regard for the traditional institution as it could be recalled that the Emir had previously issued a certificate of commendation to him for his philanthropic work to the people of Kano and we make bold to say that the Emir we know would have been offended to know that a flight already taking off was stopped and delayed for over one hour for him. We reiterate our respects to our revered Emir,” Olajide said.
