Published 1st Nov, 2021

By Emmanuel Uti

Bibian Urum, a lawyer, has narrated how Air Peace cancelled her Port Harcourt to Lagos flight booked three months before the travel date and rescheduled it at the expense of other passengers.

Bibian, a popular social media user, said she woke up to an email on October 22 that Air Peace had cancelled her flight for October 29 and rescheduled it for October 30.

“I called Air Peace to confirm if the entire flight had been cancelled or it was just my ticket, but they wouldn’t say. They just apologised and told me that I would be travelling on October 30,” she recalls.

“I told the customer care agent that I would be at the airport on the 29th and if there was any Air Peace flight leaving Port Harcourt to Lagos, I would be on the flight no matter what it took.”

To ensure her consumer rights were not infringed upon, she emailed Air Peace and copied the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

As a lawyer, she also promised to do everything legal to ensure that the issue was addressed. However, she booked an alternative flight with another airline for the same date.

On October 24, Air Peace replied to Bibian’s email, apologising and informing her that the cancellation was not intentional. After requesting her booking reference, they said there was no available flight for October 29 from Port Harcourt to Lagos.

“My friend stepped in on the 25th and took the issue up with a management staff [sic] of Air Peace, and by the 26th, I was back on the flight. The same day, the NCAA acknowledged my complaint, conducted their investigation and got back to me,” she said.

“They assured me that Air Peace had “re-protected” me on the flight that I’d earlier booked. I checked my booking and, truly, there was suddenly availability and I’d been reinstated. I also got calls and an email from Air Peace further confirming.”

Bibian checked in online on October 28, went to the airport on her scheduled date in the morning and boarded a plane home.

While at the airport, Bibian said she noticed many people whose flights were scheduled for 10 am grudgingly going back home after Air Peace moved their flights to the following day without informing them.

“To be on the safe side, I checked in online yesterday and was at the airport very early this morning. I got my boarding pass without hassles and as I promised Air Peace on the 22nd, I was on the flight from Ph back to Lagos. I’m home and safe with my family now,” she wrote.

“While I was at the airport this morning, I saw people who had a 10am flight being told by the same airline around 8.40am that checkin had closed and the flight had also left. They were asked to reschedule to tomorrow and they grudgingly went back home. They didn’t even get cancellation mails/messages. There is something going on with Air Peace and I really hope they address it before it cripples their business. I don’t think new aircraft and destinations will address their poor service delivery issues.

“I shared most part of this dispute online to remind us to test the system sometimes, no matter how much we distrust it. There is no guarantee that you will get a swift response or even any response at all (one week later, FCCPC has not assigned my case to an agent), but there’s no harm in trying, especially when it won’t cost you any money. Complain, send emails, share on social media, make phone calls, ‘show small craze’, whatever it takes, don’t let anyone trample on your rights and get away with it. Finally, to survive in Nigeria, you need a dash of madness.”

FIJ placed a call to Air Peace but their line was unreachable. A text was sent to their phones but it was not responded to.

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