Passengers on a Dubai-Cairo-Abuja flight operated by Egypt Airline (MS877) were stranded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Tuesday as they could not claim their luggage.
The aircraft arrived at the Abuja airport from Cairo at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday without the passengers’ luggage.
Some of the passengers had formed a queue for several hours while awaiting their bags only to be told to return on Thursday to claim their luggage.
Only a few passengers were able to claim their bags after several hours at the airport.
“We are sorry there are no more luggage in the aircraft; kindly come on Thursday to claim your luggage,” a FAAN official told the awaiting passengers.
A passenger who claimed to have experienced a similar situation in the past lamented the inconvenience caused by the airline’s failure to airlift the luggage Tuesday afternoon.
A PREMIUM TIMES journalist, who was among affected passengers, reports that several passengers who were supposed to join a connecting flight to other parts of Nigeria were left stranded at the airport.
“I’m not living in Abuja, I’m going to join my flight to Port Harcourt. What do they want me to do?” a female passenger lamented.
“Egypt Air is fond of this, they did not tell us that our baggage will not be arriving today,” another passenger claimed.
“This is so frustrating. And it is not their first time. At their airports in Cairo, they were treating passengers rudely only to get here to meet another disappointment. Yet no one will query this airline.”
Affected passengers were asked to fill Property Irregularity Report (PIR) form for checked baggage.
FAAN, NCAA speak
When our correspondent visited the office of the manager of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the airport to officially complain, Mohammed, a FAAN official in charge of operations, instructed passengers to file complaints at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
He added that airlines have varying reasons for not informing passengers of their inability to convey their luggage on their flights.
“You know if they tell passengers that their luggage will not be arriving with them, many won’t fly. That could be the reason why they did not inform you people,” he said.
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At the passenger support booth of the NCAA, an official with the name tag ‘O. U Aboh’ said a complaint cannot be lodged until it’s confirmed that baggage is missing.
He said the PIR form filled by affected passengers will be used to trace the missing bags after which passengers can lodge complaints after 21 days.
“There is nothing we can do now. Just wait. They will send an email explaining what happened,” he said.
Efforts to reach the management of the airline failed Tuesday evening. The airline’s officials were not present at the airport and an email sent to the airline was not responded to.
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