Yemi Obafemi
Air Peace has strongly denied allegations made by Senator Adams Oshiomhole accusing the airline of extorting its passengers.
In a statement released on Thursday and signed by the airline’s management, Air Peace described the senator accusation of extortion as “very defamatory”.
“Our attention has been drawn to the deliberate falsehood being peddled by Senator Adams Oshiomhole against Air Peace,” the statement read.
The airline challenged the senator to present a single piece of evidence showing that any passenger was extorted. It also emphasized that no tickets were sold after the check-in counter closed, and that every passenger onboard had purchased their ticket prior to that time.
“The Senator lied blatantly when he accused Air Peace of extorting its passengers. None of our staff ever extorted any passenger,” the airline asserted.
Addressing claims of overbooking, Air Peace stated unequivocally that the flight in question departed with more than 30 empty seats, contradicting Oshiomhole’s suggestion
“It would have been in our interest to carry Oshiomhole and those others who missed their flights for lateness on this flight, instead of flying many empty seats; but we will never sacrifice our strict on-time performance for monetary gains,” the statement added.
Air Peace further alleged that Senator Oshiomhole was not acting on behalf of other passengers as he claimed, but instead caused a scene after arriving late for his flight. The airline accused the former Edo State governor of obstructing airport operations.
“He jumped on the baggage conveyor belt preventing the check-in process of other flights. He also barricaded the entrance gate and prevented access to the terminal,” the airline alleged.
The airline called on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to release CCTV footage of the incident from the time Senator Oshiomhole arrived at the airport, urging the public to see the sequence of events for themselves.
“His accusation of extortion is very defamatory. His conduct was very violent, unbecoming, unfortunate and above all, shameful,” the statement added.
