NCAA to prosecute passenger for holding Ibom Air flight hostage over baggage dispute

An Ibom Air passenger from Uyo to Abuja will face prosecution for holding an Uyo-Abuja flight hostage until the flight was cancelled, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumers’ Protection of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, has said.

It was gathered that the female passenger would have been lynched if not for the intervention of the Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel and those of Ibom Air.

The incident happened on an Ibom Air flight scheduled to depart Uyo for Abuja at 1730hrs last Wednesday. Prior to the flight, passengers were said to have been informed that due to weight restrictions, some or all of their luggage may not arrive on the same flight.

After boarding, the passenger in question noticed that her bag was not among the luggage loaded into the bowels of the aircraft. She therefore left the aircraft in anger and insisted that her bags must be loaded, otherwise the aircraft would not leave.

Despite the intervention of AVSEC and the pilot who even offered to carry her checked-in baggage in the cabin if not for the size, the passenger reportedly refused all entreaties and appeals.

However, the flight couldn’t depart again as Uyo is a sunset airport and it was almost time for the airspace to be shut.