Angry passenger arrested for destroying laptops over flight cancellation

File photo: Police officers

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An angry male passenger was arrested on Thursday after allegedly destroying laptops at United Nigeria Airlines following the cancellation of his flight.

Public Relations Officer of United Nigeria Airlines, Chibuike Uloka, confirmed the incident to PUNCH Online.

He said, “The incident happened at the airport premises. Aviation Security has arrested him and handed him over to the police. From the investigation, we can count about two laptops that the passenger destroyed. After we are done with our investigation, we will find out if other items were destroyed.”

Director of Administration at United Nigeria Airlines, Linus Awute, explained that the airline strictly followed safety protocols.

He said, “There is evidence of pandemonium. There is evidence of somebody grabbing our laptops at the same time,” he said, describing the moment the passenger became violent.

“It was a bird strike, resulting in a delay. For us, safety is what matters. Whenever such a thing happens to an aircraft, it needs to be grounded and checked. Its safety condition will have to be determined.”

Awute emphasised that the airline could not compromise safety or violate the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority rules.

He said, “Our pilot can enter the plane and fly. It’s our money. But we don’t do that. Doing that means we have gone against safety regulations. So we didn’t do that.”

He added that officials from the NCAA were present at the scene and attempted to calm the agitated passenger.

“This same man, NCAA officials were on site trying to calm the situation down, but he refused. He says he’s coming from Switzerland with his wife,” Awute said.

The NCAA has repeatedly warned that grounding decisions are strictly safety-driven, and airlines are compelled to comply immediately. Passengers have also been cautioned that verbal or physical aggression at airports constitutes a security breach.

Awute said the airline had offered the standard options available whenever a flight is cancelled: same-day refunds or rebooking on another flight.

“When that happens, it will definitely affect us. We are the ones losing. Passengers who have plans will also lose. That’s how it goes. It’s not like anybody’s short-changing anybody.

“Whenever such a thing happens, passengers have options, several options. Either you get your money refunded on the spot, or you are booked on another flight. All of these things will happen only when you are ready to listen,” he explained.

Instead, the passenger allegedly became aggressive.

“When they tell you that the flight is cancelled, then the next thing you want to hear is why and what to do. But for you to say, ‘no way, no way, enough is enough. You cancel flights too much, you do this, you do this.’ What do you expect?” he said.

Awute described how the passenger attacked staff and destroyed equipment.

He said, “And then hitting our staff and smashing their working equipment, that’s what happened. The best we can do is not to fight but to bring the police in.

“Like now we have controlled ourselves by taking the matter to the police. In his own case, what did he do? He wanted to fight; he wanted to attack everything. If the plane had been closed, he would have smashed our aeroplane.”

The airline initially intended to pursue full prosecution, but the passenger is now negotiating with the police to pay for the damages.

“And right now he’s negotiating for peace. We want to prosecute him, but he’s negotiating to pay for the damages he has caused. He’s right now negotiating, and our IT unit has gone to look into the laptop and also see how he can replace them,” Awute said.

He questioned whether the passenger would have behaved similarly abroad.

“So that’s impunity, and it’s not acceptable. Can he do this in Switzerland, where he’s coming from? Right now, he won’t be talking about paying for a laptop. He will be locked up,” he added.

United Nigeria Airlines had earlier announced that several flights would be disrupted after one of its aircraft suffered a bird strike.

The airline said the affected aircraft was immediately grounded for mandatory technical checks in strict compliance with safety procedures, noting that incidents of this nature require comprehensive inspection before the aircraft can return to service.

The airline apologised to passengers whose plans were affected and appealed for patience, assuring that efforts were underway to minimise delays, provide timely updates, and assist passengers with rebooking.

“United Nigeria Airlines remains committed to delivering safe and reliable services despite the unforeseen incident,” the statement added.

Princess, has three years journalism experience covering entertainment, including radio and TV and recently aviation and transport with Punch Newspapers

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