Dana Air is yet to refund N72,000 to Rachael Mukhtar, an Abuja resident whose Lagos-to-Abuja flight was cancelled by the airline in April.

FIJ had first reported the matter on September 12.

While speaking with FIJ in an August 21 interview, Mukhtar had said she booked the flight on April 8.

“I had travelled down from Abuja to visit a relative in Lagos,” said Mukhtar.

“While I was in Lagos, I decided to book a flight ahead of time so that things would be easy for me when returning to Abuja.

“So, I booked the flight for N72,000 and chose April 28 as my travel date.

“Before I could travel on the appointed date, however, I received an email from the airline that my April 28 flight had been cancelled due to an NCAA audit.

READ ALSO: Despite Requesting Abuja Resident’s Bank Details, Dana Air Yet to Make N72,000 Refund

“I was then sent a refund form to fill which I did and sent to them on the same day. Unfortunately, since April, I never heard from Dana Air.

“It’s been several months since the flight was cancelled. This is not fair.”

Mukhtar also told FIJ that she subsequently made many phone calls and sent several emails to Dana Air, but the airline would not respond.

When FIJ contacted Dana Air on its customer desk’s WhatsApp channel concerning the matter on August 22, one of the airline’s officials, who did not identify themselves, requested the passenger’s details, including her account number.

After this, the official stated that her details had been forwarded to the appropriate team for processing.

On August 28, FIJ again contacted the airline via its customer desk’s WhatsApp channel for an update on the refund request. This time, one of its officials said the refund request was being processed.

Since then, however, the passenger has yet to receive her N72,000 refund from Dana Air.

In early September, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) announced NG Eagle, Dana Air’s new partner, would be responsible for honouring flight tickets and processing refunds for passengers affected by the suspension of the airline’s operations.

“The Authority is also aware that Dana Air customers who paid for flights that were not operated due to its suspension have sought refunds of their airfares and have been patiently waiting,” the NCAA stated.

READ ALSO: Dana Air Fails to Make N224,170 Refund to Lagos Resident Since 2022

“In line with NCAA’s regulatory obligations, the DGCA, Captain Chris Najomo and his management team has(sic) met with Dana Air and its new partners, NG Eagle, to resolve these complaints. The resolution is that NG Eagle will be taking up this obligation.”

When FIJ reached out to Mukhtar on Monday to ask whether NG Eagle had contacted her on her refund request, she said she had not been contacted.

“I have not heard anything from both NG Eagle and Dana Air,” said Mukhtar.

“It’s already taking ages. I don’t even understand why things are always this difficult in Nigeria. To collect money from people for services is always very easy, but to make a refund when such services are not rendered is always very difficult. Why?”