“I am excited to inform you that I just received my refund of N50,500 from Arik Air. I am extremely grateful for your assistance. I don’t think this would have happened without your intervention. Thank you once again.”

These were the words of an Edo State resident to FIJ on August 9, four months after her flight was cancelled by Arik Air. As reported in a June 25 publication by FIJ, the woman’s Abuja-Port Harcourt flight earlier scheduled for April 17 was cancelled on April 3.

READ ALSO: 2 Months After Cancelling Flight, Arik Air Has Not Returned Customer’s Ticket Fee

FIJ gathered that she immediately requested a refund of her ticket fee from Arik Air, but she found herself on a journey of seemingly futile attempts to recover her N50,500.

Before FIJ published the story in June, an email was sent to Adebanji Ola, the airline’s communications manager, but he did not respond. And the woman did not get her money.

The Edo resident reached out to FIJ again on August 7, saying she had still not received her money.

“I just wanted to let you know that I still haven’t received my refund from Arik Air. When I write them an email, all I receive is an automatic response, which I’ll attach to this email. I attempted to contact the refunds unit by phone but was unsuccessful. I truly don’t know what to do at this point. It’s been over 4 months now. Please, assist in any way you can.”

READ ALSO: After FIJ’s Intervention, Arik Air Refunds Customer’s N116,501 Held for a Month

FIJ subsequently sent a follow-up email to the airline and its communications manager on August 8, and Adebanji, the airline’s spokesperson, promised to investigate the issue.

In one of the two emails he sent in response to FIJ’ inquiry, he wrote: “Kindly note that the refund process for this request has been completed and the customer’s account will be credited in a couple of days. We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

On August 9, the Edo resident confirmed to FIJ that she had received the money.