NOT quite long ago, Akwa Ibom State owned vibrant airline, Ibom Air was at the center of the news attributed to a female passenger, Ms Ubane, who would not accept the plea from the airline that some luggage belonging to her and some passengers might arrive on subsequent flights due to weight restrictions.
While other passengers cooperated with the airline officials having recognized the fact that the plea was made for the sake of safety of the passengers and to give the aircraft good balance for take off and landing, the female passenger in question went wild by creating scene that subsequently truncated the hope of other passengers of getting to their destinations on the day in question.
Immediately, the Ibom Air officials announced that some luggage will not be allowed to go with the flight in view of the massive volume of luggage the passengers that booked for the flight came with, and with the promise that such luggage will be brought on the subsequent flight, the passenger who was already seated in the aircraft did not only lose her control, but disembarked from the aircraft and prevented the already prepared flight from taking off.
Despite all pleas from the airline officials, other passengers and even airport security officials, Ms Ubani stood her ground without consideration for fellow passengers whose luggage too could not be loaded on the same flight.
The unruly behavior of Ubani dragged on until the flight was subsequently cancelled since the Uyo airport operates during daylight hours.
The unpalatable action of the passenger caused serious pains to many other passengers who could not meet their connecting flights to other parts of the world while some missed their appointments.
The shenanigans of the passenger equally caused the airline additional operating cost as the airline was forced to accommodate the passengers in different hotels with food and other logistics provided.
Without doubt, the uncouth behaviour of the said passenger must have caused huge financial losses to the airline on one side, and equally caused psychological trauma to many passengers just because of one person.
This attitude of the passenger falls under the category of those described as unruly in the aviation circle with proportionate punishment to be meted out to the culprit.
No matter what she must have carried inside her luggage, the safety of the passengers and that of the flight should be the priority of the airline hence, this important critical safety component cannot be sacrificed for any reason.
With what happened at the Uyo airport on the day in question, the airline had no blame because the aircraft is a passenger plane and not a cargo plane which therefore, empowered the officials on that day to weigh the volume of luggage to be loaded onboard and at that point if the weight of the luggage had been found capable of posing threat to the aircraft balance, the airline took the right decision to have dropped some luggage.
It is at this juncture that the arraignment of Ubani in the court of law is a welcome development.
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Her prosecution would send signals to other travelers who take laws into their hands at any opportunity without minding the rules that guide airport safety as being dictated by international standards.
While it can be painful for a passenger not having the privilege of traveling with his/her luggage, it is however important to allow caution and every sense of responsibility to prevail over emotions in other not to lose the public sympathy such a passenger would have enjoyed.
One obvious fact is that since the case has reached the court of law, by now while calmness would have since returned to Ubani, it would have dawned on her that her rampage on the day in question have pushed her into an unforgettable and regrettable consequences she will have to contend with.
As the case continues, it is hoped that the financial and time loss suffered by the airline will be compensated for, while the unruliness of Ubani must be treated in line with aviation laws.
For sure if Ubani or any Nigerian passenger for that matter had been faced with a similar situation on a foreign airline outside Nigeria, the situation would have been different as more precaution would have been applied, but because it happened in Nigeria, heaven must fall.
and then