NCAA summons Kenya Airways over complaints, maltreatment row

Nigerian air travellers have raised concerns over alleged persistent poor treatment by Kenya Airways The concerns came against the backdrop of a viral video of the airline mistreating a Nigeria passenger, Gloria Ibukun Omisore, who had a 17-hour layover in Nairobi, the country’s capital, without essential care.

A video clip from the incident, which surfaced online on Sunday, showed Omisore accusing the airline of failing to provide her with accommodation and sanitary towels during the extended stopover. She also claimed Nigerians often experienced unfair treatment from the same airline.

But in a response, Kenya Airways alleged that Omisore was denied boarding because she lacked a Schengen visa required for her transit through Paris. The airline further claimed that she reacted aggressively by throwing used sanitary towels at staff after being informed that she did not qualify for accommodation.

Some Nigerians on the X handle have also narrated similar maltreatment by the airline. An X user @DareOyegbola wrote: “Kenya Airways does this all the time. Last year, we spent the night at Nairobi Airport, they knew the plane would not fly, but delayed us in the plane for two hours and made us to spend the next seven hours at the airport.”

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Another user @gr8nja, who posted a video wrote: “@KenyaAirways staff and management are terrible at managing customers. They will tell you to your face that you can’t do anything to them. A lady in this video slept on the chair with her child of about eight years overnight, we were kept at the airport for ten hours.”

Misbaudeen Yusuff Adeshina wrote: “@KenyaAirways are notorious for treating Nigerians as trash. I had a personal bitter experience with them on my flight from Nairobi to Kigali in 2024. They frustrated me and my wife, saying I needed to get a return or onward flight with Kenya airways before we could board.

Yet another user said: “I had two onward ticket from Rwandair and Egyptair. But @KenyaAirways frustrated me and my wife, demanding that we get an onward ticket with their airline before we could board. The Director Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, in a post on his X handle wondered why the passenger would be allowed to board from Lagos without the necessary requirements.

He said: “You should not have allowed her to board your flight from Nigeria if she was not qualified due to visa requirements. You issued her boarding passes and let her leave Lagos. He said the passenger claimed to have called the airline before paying for the ticket and she was told that she was qualified since she own a BRP (Biometric Resident Permit).

While describing statements made by Kenya Airways staff, “Call your president,” as inappropriate, the authority said Kenya Airways would be asked to provide CCTV footage, showing the passenger throw her used sanitary towels at their staff. The authority summoned the Acting Station Manager of the Airline in Lagos to a meeting on Monday to review all of the issues, insisting that attendance was mandatory.