Air Peace management on Thursday, insisted Senator Adams Oshiomole came late for boarding of his flight on Wednesday, debunking his allegations of extortion and ticket racketeering levelled against its staff.
The airline had accused Oshiomole of resorting to violence and disrupting operations at Lagos airport after he missed his flight. It supported its claims with videos of the Senator blocking the main entrance of the terminal to other airport users.
But the Senator alleged he was flighting against the airline’s extortion of passengers, saying the airline sold tickets to passengers after it had allegedly closed its counters.
In a statement, Air Peace described the allegation of extortion as deliberate falsehood meant to tarnish its good image.
“The Senator lied blatantly when he accused Air Peace of extorting its passengers. We challenge Senator Oshiomole to bring one evidence of a passenger that was extorted.
“None of our staff ever extorted any passenger. In fact, no ticket was sold after the closure of check-in on that flight. Everyone who flew bought their ticket prior to the flight closure.
“Again, our flight was never overbooked as some of his videos alleged. In fact, the aircraft took off with over thirty empty seats. 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.
“It’s absolutely false that he was offered preferential treatment and that he was fighting for others. Senator Oshiomole was not fighting for anyone. He came to the airport late and was told that he was late. He then began to forment trouble. 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. While he was doing all these, he also deliberately instigated other passengers against the Airline.”, it. said.
Air Peace called on the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to produce the CCTV coverage of the entire operations to counter or support either claims.
“We call on the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to release the CCTV coverage starting from the time Senator Oshiomole entered the airport, for Nigerians to see. His accusation of extortion is very defamatory. His conduct was very violent, unbecoming, unfortunate and above all, shameful.”, it added.
