Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North Senatorial District, has detailed his experience with Air Peace at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1 in Lagos, accusing the airline of preventing him and other passengers from boarding their Lagos-Abuja flight despite completing online check-in procedures.
According to Oshiomhole, Air Peace officials were selling tickets at inflated prices to new customers while turning away passengers who had already purchased tickets online at lower rates.
Conflicting Accounts
The controversy emerged after Air Peace released a statement on Wednesday claiming that Oshiomhole had disrupted flight operations after missing his flight. However, the former Edo State Governor and Nigeria Labour Congress president strongly refuted this claim.
"I booked a flight for 6:30 a.m., which is their first flight today. I booked and asked them to check me in online, which I did, along with two other Ghanaians who met me in Lagos," Oshiomhole explained.
"I got there at about five minutes past six. They told me the counter was closed. I told them, 'No, I've already checked in.' I showed them the evidence of my online check-in. Even before then, they had asked if I had checked in, and I told them yes and that I had no luggage."
Allegations of Price Gouging
The senator described witnessing numerous passengers facing similar issues, including a woman with a six-month-old baby who had purchased a ticket for ₦146,000 but was denied boarding despite arriving at 5:55 a.m. for the 6:30 a.m. flight.
"Meanwhile, the airline was selling tickets on the spot for between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000. To take advantage of the situation, they discouraged those who had bought tickets online at lower rates and sold to people willing to pay more," Oshiomhole alleged.
He further claimed that when security personnel intervened, the airline offered to place the woman on the next flight but demanded an additional ₦109,100 on top of her original ticket price.
"I had to send that woman ₦500,000. That's basically what happened. I told them this cannot be allowed. I checked in online and arrived on time. The aircraft hadn't taken off. I'm not supposed to check in twice," the senator stated.
Oshiomhole concluded by expressing concern about the airline's practices: "The rowdiness arose because many people were denied boarding while tickets were being sold on the spot to others."
As of the time of reporting, Air Peace has not responded to these specific allegations beyond their initial statement about the senator missing his flight.
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