Airlines lift lifetime ban placed on Ibom Air passenger

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has lifted the
lifetime ban placed on Comfort Emmanson, the passenger accused of unruly
behaviour onboard an Ibom Air flight on August 10.

Obiora Okonkwo, AON spokesperson, announced on Thursday.

Okonkwo said the decision followed the intervention of
Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, who appealed for
the sanction to be reviewed.

“The AON, having considered all the circumstances of the matter,
including the exhibition of remorse for her behavior, as reported, the
withdrawal of the complaint and consequent striking out of the charges, and
release of Ms. Emmanson from custody, the statement of Government that it takes
aviation safety and security very seriously and decision to draw a line after
these clemencies, and the proposed retreat to retrain AVSEC personnel and
airline crew on the handling of unruly and disruptive passengers, hereby lifted
the life ban placed on Ms. Comfort Emmanson from flying with any AON-member
airline for life,” the statement reads.

“Calls on the relevant aviation agencies to immediately
commence the sensitization of the public on the dangers and consequences of
unruly behaviour at airport terminals and onboard aircraft, as spelt out in
section 85 of the Civil Aviation Act, 2022 and Part 17 of the Nigeria Civil
Aviation Regulations, 2023.

“Believes that incidents of unruly and disruptive behaviour
at airport terminals and onboard aircraft will greatly reduce if passengers are
aware that such behaviour poses a danger to flight safety and are offences
under the law, punishable with a fine or imprisonment or both.”

The AON spokesperson listed offences that constitute unruly
behaviour, including assaulting crew members, using electronic devices against
crew instructions, smoking on board, fighting, disobeying lawful orders, and
tampering with aircraft equipment.

Okonkwo reiterated that pilots-in-command and aviation
security (AVSEC) officers are empowered to restrain and de-board disruptive
passengers to maintain safety and order, and to hand them over to competent
authorities.

“The AON confirms that members shall cooperate with the
relevant aviation agencies and participate in the retraining retreats on how to
handle cases of unruly and disruptive passengers as proposed by the Honorable
Minister,” he added.

The association reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy towards
unruly passenger behaviour and enjoins aggrieved passengers to follow proper
channels in expressing their grievances.

On Wednesday, Keyamo said he met with key aviation sector
stakeholders, adding that the airlines had agreed to lift the lifetime ban on
the passenger.

AON had earlier placed Emmanson on its “no-fly” list for
life after videos surfaced online showing her assaulting a flight attendant
aboard the Ibom Air aircraft and confronting airport security personnel.

Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday

Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users

Source: NigerianEye | Read Full Story…