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Louis Ibah
On May 12, 2019, a passenger identified as Mr. Christopher Aniagboso was deboarded from an Air Peace Airline Lagos-Owerri bound flight following a heated argument with cabin crew bothering on the passenger incapability to assist in the case of an emergency. The passenger who was assigned a seat on the emergency exit row of the aircraft had told the cabin crew that he can not communicate effectively in English language (except in Igbo) when approached by cabin crew for normal safety briefing on the procedures to adopt in opening the exit door in the case of emergency on the aircraft.
According to Air Peace sources, Mr. Christopher Aniagboso had missed his morning Lagos-Owerri flight on May 12, 2019. He later showed up for the afternoon flight in good time and was issued an over-wing exit seat on his request. After boarding, he was approached by a crew member for the normal safety briefing for passengers in the over-wing emergency exit seats, but he claimed he could not understand English and insisted that the crew must brief him in Igbo,” said the spokesman for Air Peace, Mr. Chris Iwarah.
“The crew advised Mr. Aniagboso to change his seat as the flight was already running late. He declined the advice to change his seat. The captain of the flight, who was eventually briefed on the development, also did everything to secure Mr. Aniagboso’s cooperation to no avail. At this point, our crew members were left with no other alternative than to advise Mr. Aniagboso to disembark to enable the flight depart,” Iwarah said.
The forceful removal of Aniagboso from the Air Peace flight had caused a great stir in the aircraft with some co-passengers complaining of his improper or unfair treatment by the airline. Some of the dissenting passengers held the view that Aniagboso had the right to sit anywhere in the aircraft and ought not to have been embarrassed and asked to change his seat or disembark.
Why passengers prefer emergency exit
The fact that some passengers fear that a plane can crash makes the choice of the emergency exit row a top preference for so many passengers. The thinking by these passengers is that being seated on the emergency exit offers the best route to escape in case of an emergency.
But for others, the biggest benefit of demanding to be seated in the emergency exit row is that the legroom is usually more generous and allows passenger the benefit to relax better in the course of the flight. For Mr. Christopher Aniagboso, the choice of the emergency exit row on the Air Peace flight could have been either of these two – the extra legroom or the speedy escape in case of danger.
However, what some passengers are unaware is that there are rules for sitting in the emergency exit row, and one of them is the willingness to assist in opening the exit door and helping the other passengers in exiting the aircraft if a crew member is unable to do so. It is therefore important for passengers who take up these emergency seats to be civil and respectful in answering questions posed to them by cabin crew on their willingness and capability to cooperate in opening the exit door and possibly assisting in the evacuation of other passengers. Passengers must note that the failure to answer these questions convincingly could be taken for incapability to perform emergency actions and the passenger may be asked to leave the emergency seat and take up another seat.
It is important to note that not all passengers can be allowed to sit in the emergency exit row. For instance, children under the ages of 12 (sometimes up to 15) years old are barred from occupying these seats, just as adult passengers with infants cannot be granted seats on emergency exit rows.
In the same vein, passengers with any physical or mental limitations that may affect their ability to perform the functions required to remove the door and/or clear the path in the case of an emergency, and passengers who do not speak any of the languages used by the cabin crew on board would not be allowed to occupy these seats because passengers in the exit row need to be able to understand safety instructions from cabin crew in the case of an emergency. It was for this reason that Iwarah said Air Peace decided to de-board it’s passenger on the Lagos-Owerri route for stating that he cannot communicate in English, except in Igbo, a language that majority of the cabin crew, passengers and pilots don’t speak.
“It is important to state that only those who are able to clearly understand and express their willingness to perform their safety responsibility are allowed by aviation regulations to sit in the exit row,” said Iwarah. “It is also clearly stated in the safety cards provided for passengers that only those who can speak English are allowed to sit in the exit row. Air Peace takes pride in promoting the use of all local languages on board our flights without discrimination. We encourage our crew to speak the local language whenever it is possible to do so. But conducts with the potential of jeopardising the safety of our passengers and crew are not welcome on any of our flights,” Iwarah added.
Expert view
Aviation analyst, Captain John Ojikutu, however said there is the need for the NCAA to come out with clear guidelines for airlines in pre-determining who sits on the exit seats to avoid cases where passengers are embarrassed.
I am worried that all have put the blames of the cause of the incident on the passenger simply because he allegedly requested for and was given the over-wing-exit-seat and later claimed he wanted the briefing for the passenger voluntary support in the in-flight emergency plan attached to the seat to be given or translated to him in Igbo language,” said Ojikutu.
“Conversely, no single blame was directed at the airline nor to its staff about their mandatory responsibilities in the inflight emergency plan to passengers. At what point do the airlines or cabin crew determine or consider passengers for the over-wing emergency exit seat; at the check in counter, boarding gate or when the passengers have been allocated seats and are seated on board?
“What I think discerning minds of aviation safety should be concerned about and be asking the airline and its staff are: If the passenger specifically requested for the over wing exit seat, was he asked if he understood what the seat meant and was told the safety responsibility attached to it? Was the passenger sufficiently profiled and assessed by the airline’s staff with an established methods or process of assessing and selecting passengers for the over wing exit seat to determine his ability to perform the task required in the event of inflight emergency? These questions are very necessary in determining the capabilities of passengers for the responsibility on the seat that attracts most passengers only because of the room for leg stretching.
