On December 25, 2022, Ufuoma Peter, an Abuja-based civil servant, booked two Owerri-to-Abuja Arik Air flight tickets worth N142,000 for his parents-in-law.

On the scheduled departure date however, the airline cancelled the flight without information on whether it would be rescheduled or not.

“Right at the airport, the affected passengers, including my in-laws, were asked by Arik Air’s officials to write down their account numbers so that a refund would be made, and they did,” Ufuoma told FIJ while lodging his complaint.

“After waiting for a few days without getting the promised refund, I decided to contact Arik Air’s customer service team.

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“When I demanded for my refund, the customer service representative I spoke with advised me to contact the airline’s refund unit, adding that I would get my money back once I reached out to the team.

“So, I sent a mail to the refund unit on January 3, requesting for my refund. But the unit would later issue a response directing me to provide a duly stamped bank statement showing that the N142,000 was indeed debited from my account after I booked the flight. I promptly sent the statement as they requested.”

Despite providing the airline with all that was required for the request to be effected, the civil servant still did not get his refund.

“After waiting for several weeks without getting paid, I began sending the airline reminders,” Ufuoma said.

“On January 27, I received a mail from the refund unit, asking me to fill an attached template with all the necessary information. I promptly filled it and sent it back to them.

“Sadly, that was the last time I heard from Arik Air. They never got back to me again on when my money would be paid back to me.”

After Ufuoma’s complaint, FIJ took up the matter and reached out to the airline on behalf of the aggrieved customer. One of the airline’s top officials responded to the inquiry, promising that the civil servant would get his money back within two days.

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On Thursday morning, the day the airline’s two-day refund promise was to elapse, an excited Ufuoma called in to say he had received his refund.

“I am so grateful for your intervention, FIJ,” he said.

“I have been on this issue for over three months without making any headway, but it took you just two days to get it resolved for me. May God continue to bless and strengthen the team. I am very grateful.”