Passengers’ unruliness is the failure of airport security

THE issue of open confrontation between passengers and airlines over flight cancellations or delays has continued to take centre stage in flight operations in the country’s aviation sector.

Hardly will a week pass by without hearing about passengers taking laws into their hands having been pushed to the wall by the excessive flight delays at the various airports.

Nowadays, many travellers are gradually losing confidence in flying on the domestic routes following the disappointing services many of the airlines rendered.

Without doubt, the issue of flight delays/cancellation has continued to create safety and security challenges to airport users and even airport safety once the aggrieved passengers react to the menace.

As much as passengers who feel cheated have the right to kick against unfair treatments from the airlines, there are guidelines put on ground by relevant government agencies to protect such passengers against having their fundamental rights being trampled upon by any airline under the guise of delays or cancellations.

Therefore, while the aggrieved passengers cannot be totally blamed for their actions anytime the menace rears its head, the effect of such actions becomes worrisome when at times it touches on the safety of the airport.

It is on record how passengers reacting to unjust delays often attacked not only the airline workers but also resulted in attacking airport facilities or at times prevented aircraft with full boarded passengers from taking off.

It however becomes more worrisome how the aggrieved passengers carry out these illegal reactions effortlessly without being restricted by the security agencies including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) Aviation Security officials.

One begins to wonder about the relevance of the security agencies at the airports if they cannot confront passengers who are not carrying arms but still unleash damages on airline workers and airport facilities.

Besides FAAN’s AVSEC officials, other security bodies present at the airports include police and other military agencies which should have made it almost impossible for armless aggrieved passengers or anyone to push their ways to restricted areas and damage facilities easily.

This type of lawlessness has put a question mark on the competencies of the security agencies parading themselves around the airports harassing innocent airport users.

For security agencies that could not restrict passengers from turning the airports to battle grounds because of flight delays, the questions on the lips of key players are; how prepared such security agencies could be in the face of any probable attacks by terrorists and bandits who have now extended their evil perpetration to the airports.

Obviously, there is something wrong with the security apparatus at the airports that urgently need to be looked into by the relevant aviation authorities led by the national security unit of the presidency.

The need to urgently tackle this security laxity becomes pertinent in the face of the growing resilience of terrorists and other undesirable elements who are upping their evil games as witnessed in the recent attacks on Kaduna airport and the Abuja/Kaduna bound train.

In order not to be caught napping, the time has come for the relevant aviation authorities to investigate while it has become so easy for aggrieved passengers to attack airports and airline facilities at the airports at the expense of the security network at the airports.

Acting precisely by the government would nip in the bud the reckless attitude of passengers or anyone for that matter.

Failure to clip the wings of any aggrieved passenger this time may lead to a dangerous situation where aggrieved travellers may not only kill airline or airport workers, but attack aircraft to protest flight delays/cancellations.