Passenger who halted Abuja-bound Ibom air flight charged to court— NCAA

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has announced that a female passenger who impeded an Ibom Air flight headed for Abuja will be subject to the full force of the law. 

On Monday, our correspondent was confidentially informed by Michael Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, that the unhappy passenger had been turned over to the police and charged with a crime. 

"The NCAA continues to educate stakeholders about unruly behaviour and the penalties it attracts," Achimugu said, confirming that the passenger would face legal action in accordance with the rules.

He said, “The regulations state firmly that no provocation justifies violence at the airport. Certain acts, especially holding up the movement of an aircraft through means of violence, could be interpreted as terrorism depending on the severity (to be determined by the police).

“She was taken to the police and was in detention for two nights. She has been charged to court but granted bail. That was the last information I got from the airline and later today (Monday), I will get further information.”

When airline officials refused to allow the "unruly passenger" to bring her overweight bags on the same flight, she prevented the plane from taking off. 

According to information our correspondent obtained, Ibom Air had previously informed customers that bags weighing more than 20 kg would not be accepted on the same aircraft but rather would be delivered on the airline's subsequent scheduled flight. 

At first, passengers accepted this arrangement, but when the woman realised her bag had not been loaded onboard the plane, she became enraged. Disembarking, the unhappy passenger threatened to stop the flight from taking off unless her bag was loaded right away. 

The irate passenger kept the plane hostage until the airport closed and the airline declared the flight was cancelled, despite many requests.

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