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How Turkish Airlines Canceled Istanbul Flight 30mins to Take-Off, Abandons Over 300 Passengers in Lagos Without a Word
Over 300 passengers were left stranded at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport by Turkish Airlines after their flight was cancelled less than 30 minutes before take-off on Tuesday night.
The Press learned that the flight, which was supposed to convey passengers from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos to Istanbul, Turkey, had been scheduled for 8:55 pm, but the airline did not inform the passengers of the flight cancellation until 8:26 pm on Tuesday.
Bola Owolana, one of the passengers who was abandoned and left stranded at the airport, told The Press that when she arrived at the airport at around 6:30 pm on Tuesday, she saw some people picketing the airline, shouting slogans and causing a commotion.
When she inquired from people at the airport what the commotion was about, she was told some members of the Nigerian Labour Congress (N:C) were picketing Turkish Airlines because it failed to pay gratuity to some of its members who were sacked by the airline five years ago.
“I wondered what was going to happen and if it would affect our flight. Some of us went to the office of the airline and their staff were nowhere to be found. We met a woman who told us the crew was on the tarmac offloading the flight that had arrived from Turkey,” she said.
“I thought that was odd because they were supposed to offload the plane and clerk people in simultaneously. We also heard the general manager was in a meeting with some members of the NLC trying to resolve the issues they had with them.”
Owolana also told The Press that no staff of the airline came to address them while they were there, and after waiting for another hour, they became angry.
“We waited for another hour, and at 8:26 pm, which was 20 minutes before scheduled departure, they sent a text message informing us that the flight had been cancelled,” she said.
“Flight cancelled. So what next? Will they give us hotel vouchers or food vouchers? That was when we heard that the plane that had arrived to take us to Istanbul had left empty with the cabin crew. Yet, no one addressed us. We are paying customers and deserve to be addressed.”
In search of responses to their questions, Owolana and three other passengers went to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) office to dialogue with Lokman Balkan, the general manager for Turkish Airlines in Nigeria.
“He kept us waiting for two hours and didn’t bother to come talk to anybody. At some point, the FAAN officials escorted him out of the office. Just like that. Passengers were left stranded without being addressed or offered anything,” Owolana lamented.
The Press also learned that some of the passengers had come from other states across the country. In a video seen by The Press, some of the abandoned passengers were with children.
Owolana also told The Press that some passengers were still at the airport when she left on Wednesday morning.
FIJ emailed Turkish Airlines on Wednesday, but they had not responded as of press time, five hours after the email was sent.
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