The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has offered explanation on why a passenger who assaulted Ibom Air Staff, Comfort Emmanson, ended up in prison, while fuji lord, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, also known as K1 De Ultimate, was only banned from travelling for disrupting the flight of Value Jet.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the NCAA, Mike Achimugu, offered the explanation on a Channels Television programme on Tuesday.
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Achimugu said the two cases were different.
He said: “There is no comparison here.
“It’s not a case of oranges and oranges.
“In the KWAM 1 incident, the airline did not activate its rights to take the passenger to court.
“So the NCAA did what it was supposed to do by petitioning the authorities to petition the passenger.
“In the Ibom Air incident, maybe because their staff had been assaulted, the airline immediately activated its right to take up the matter, and it went to court.”
Achimugu said the NCAA was not directly involved in Emmanson’s case, whereas in the one involving K1, the authority issued an advisory to the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) to ban the musician from flights.
He said contrary to earlier reports, he was not placed on a six-month ban but on an indefinite one pending the outcome of investigations.
On why Emmanson was placed on a no-fly life ban, he said airline operators have the legal authority to take such an action.
Achimugu said: “We have a lot of flight disruptions in Nigeria because we lack capacity.
“There aren’t enough aircraft in the country at the moment to meet passenger demand.
“So, while managing the limited capacity we have, any risk to an aircraft is unacceptable.
“People spend huge sums leasing or buying aircraft.
“Do you want to destroy them?
“If anything had happened to that plane yesterday, would she have been able to afford the repairs, beyond the cost?”
Achimugu added that the aircraft involved was scheduled for another flight, and failing to remove the passenger could have caused further disruptions.
He said the Ibom Air case would be handled fairly, but warned that “unruly” behaviour by passengers would not be tolerated.
He added: “The point I am trying to make is that no matter the provocation, rest assured that you can always file your complaints with the NCAA, and it will be dealt with.
“On our part, we will ensure to see the end of it and that there is fairness on every side.”