A widely-circulated viral videos posted on the social media by a frustrated female passenger who was narrating the unpleasant treatment she suffered from Turkish airline in Istanbul has reawakened the need for passengers to always study the conditions attached to tickets they intend to buy before any financial commitment is made.
The female passenger in her story lamented how Turkish airlines left her and other Nigerian passengers onboard the affected flight unattended to for the 21 hours they stayed at the airport.
According to the passenger, while the airline offered layovers in Istanbul, free hotel accommodations and free entry to the city, the Nigerian passport holders were exempted from the benefits.
While the Turkish Airline passengers from other nations were given good treatment by the airline management, the affected Nigerian passengers and others were left stranded for the 21 hours the layover lasted.
Layovers happen when passengers have to change flights en route to their final destination. This step requires passengers to disembark and then later board another aircraft, and it can increase the chance of disruptions to the passenger’s itinerary, especially if the original flight is delayed.
To avoid the hiccups and other discomfort that are common with connecting flights travellers often prefer to take direct flights. However, flights with layovers are often cheaper than nonstop flights.
The female passenger in question who was visibly frustrated by her experience, posed many questions to the Nigerian government and the relevant authorities on how to protect the Nigerian travellers.
Prior to now, the body language of the Turkish airline officials have been that of harshness towards their Nigerian passengers in view of past experiences, but coming to the benefits inherent in layovers challenges, there may be the need for Nigerian travellers to learn more on how things work under such circumstances.
To prepare the minds of Nigerians traveling onboard Turkish airlines or any other foreign carriers who may face a similar experience like the female passenger in question, there is the need for the relevant aviation authorities to begin to enlighten passengers on where their rights start and stop without wrongly accusing the airline.
Some key players who have reacted to the video though sympathized with the female passengers, but again attributed the exemption of Nigerians from such benefits accrued to layovers to the alleged misconducts of some Nigerian travelers in the foreign country.
Though some Nigerians may have previously overstepped their bounds, the Turkish airlines and other foreign carriers should not use the mistakes of the few give all Nigerian passengers a blanket treatment, therefore, exempting Nigerians from the lists of those qualified for such benefits should be reviewed.
Again, due to the past records that revealed the hostility displayed towards some Nigerian passengers including pupils who were left stranded at Istanbul and the sad stories of how the luggage of many of Nigerian passengers behind in Istanbul and the bad treatment meted to a Nigerian with disability in their home country and many other misdemeanors, one may not be wrong to say the Turkish carrier does not have a record of good service to its passengers in Nigeria.
Nevertheless, it is also not certain that some Nigerian travelers often care to check the conditions of the tickets they buy talk less of asking questions about the policies of the airlines they patronize.
Equally, passengers fail to realise that In most cases, airlines are only bound to provide hotel accommodation for passengers with long stopovers, especially if the stopover is due to the airline’s scheduling which is very common for international flights which may depend on the airline’s policies. It’s best to check with the airline directly to see if they offer this service for specific situation.
According to a key player who tried to wade into the controversy, “In most cases, When you book your flight, you can see what the projected layovers are for your transit but making room arrangements is not the responsibility of the airline unless they caused the delay. And, some airports are going to be better at accommodating overnight transit travelers than others. It is worth asking those questions before you fully book your flights.”
Therefore, to avoid falling into the same sad experience of narrated in the video, any intending passenger should henceforth show the interest in knowing the conditions of carriage and provisions within each fare type, category and the rules guiding the fare before rushing to obtain such tickets only to cry blue murder at the end.
In other words, there is no need to rush to purchase your tickets especially when such tickets have to do with a 20-hours lay-over. If you choose to buy a ticket that falls under this condition it is assumed that you are prepared for the imminent hiccups that may occur.
It’s better to know that no national laws anywhere in the world that would mandate airlines to offer free accommodation for passengers who choose to make a long stop-over on their multi-leg journey.
As rightly stated by a stakeholder, “When you book your flight, you can see what the projected layovers are for your transit, but making room arrangements is not the responsibility of the airline unless they caused the delay. And, some airports are going to be better at accommodating overnight transit travelers than others. It is worth asking those questions before you fully book your flights.”
As a result of the complications in the issue of layovers, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority particularly its directorate of consumer protection should find ways of enlightening Nigerian passengers especially the international travelers on the need to know the status of the tickets they want to purchase before they put their money.
The consequences of buying a ticket you don’t know the condition attached should be clearly spelt out and anyone found wanting should be able to take carry his/her cross without blackmailing the airline or the government.
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