Following the invasion of the tarmac at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by passengers of Turkish Airlines protesting the non arrival of their luggage, Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has ordered the suspension of three senior officials of the airport.
Sirika spoke to newsmen at the airport on Sunday after a fact-finding meeting on the incident.
The suspended officials comprising the Airport Manager, Terminal Manager and Head of Airport Security, were directed to handover to their next in rank pending the conclusion of the investigation ordered by the minister.
The minister said that the act of the passengers forcing their way unto the tarmac and preventing the aircraft from taking off constituted a security breach which must not be condoned.
“There has been an unfortunate incident where some agitated passengers of the Turkish Airlines arrived without their luggage, making them to force their way into the tarmac which is a breach of security.
“The explanation given is not satisfactory because the primary purpose of the government is to ensure safety of lives and property of its citizens.
“The cardinal objective of this administration is to secure the country and manage it and we cannot fail in aviation and we cannot fail in this important assignment at a very important point.
“We have ordered for the investigation into the matter immediately and all the people that are manning the various places; Airport Manager, Terminal Manager and Head of Security, should handover to the next man in rank pending the outcome of the investigation.
“As to the airline also, the Consumer Protection Unit of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been ordered to find out what happened, how compliant they are and deal with it accordingly,’’ he said.
The passengers finally got their luggage from Turkish Airlines after many days of delay. Those whose luggage suffered damages were paid some compensation by the airline.
Photo Credit:@adesphur and @pendragonnnn
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