Coronavirus: Air Peace denies suspicious passenger boarding

A Nigerian passenger who was billed to travel from Lagos to Asaba on Air Peace flight on Friday was stopped and isolated by the airline’s Coronavirus screening team when they discovered that he was very sick.

The passenger, who was immediately denied flight was said to have recently returned from the UK and had been taken to hospital where he had undertaken treatment without informing concerned authorities, the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

A source close to the airline explained that the passenger was supposed to travel on Monday but deferred his flight to Friday probably because he was too sick to travel.

The airline had earlier deployed personnel at every airport it operates to check passengers’ temperature and subject them to hand sanitization warning that anyone with high temperature will be referred to Port Health.

According to the information gathered, when the temperature of the passenger in question was checked by the airline personnel and discovered that he was very sick with the temperature very high, he was subsequently isolated immediately and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Port Health notified.

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The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Air Peace, Mrs. Toyin Olajide, confirmed the incident and disclosed that the passenger was checked in by proxy; maybe because he did not want to be noticed to be sick, but the management of the airline had deployed staff who strictly monitor passengers checked in by agents, especially since Coronavirus became a global pandemic.

“A passenger who we learnt came into the country from UK and was very sick was stopped by our screening team when he was found to be very sick and we referred him to NCAA, FAAN and Port Health.

“Our records showed that he was supposed to travel on Monday but he moved hid flight to Friday but because of the stringent measures we put in place, our staff was able to detect him. We made it mandatory that every passenger must be screened and must use sanitizer before boarding our flight. He was not allowed to board our flight, he was immediately isolated.

“We made sure he did not come to Air Peace counter and for the fact that he was checked in by proxy, we suspected he had something to hide. All those who are checked in by agents are closely monitored by our staff. We commend government for what it is already doing to curtail the spread of this coronavirus but Nigerians expect government to intensify efforts to stop the spread. We are collaborating with the government to ensure that the disease is stopped from spreading in the country. We also commend our staff for its vigilance without which this case would not have been detected.,” Mrs. Olajide said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE