NCAA faults Kenya Airways over ill-treatment of Nigerian passenger, demands compensation

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has criticised Kenya Airways regarding the inappropriate treatment of a Nigerian passenger who was stranded at Nairobi Airport on Monday.

The authority has also formally requested that Kenya Airways issue a public apology and provide compensation to the passenger for the distressing experience endured as a result of the actions of its officials in Nairobi.

This was disclosed in a statement issued Tuesday by the NCAA’s spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, after meeting with officials of Kenya Airways in Abuja.

On Monday, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the NCAA and the Management of Kenya Airways were at loggerheads regarding the perceived inhuman treatment dished out to a Nigerian passenger identified as “Gloria Ibukun Omisore” at the Nairobi airport by Kenya Airways officials.

The airline prevented her from boarding due to alleged “visa issues,” which resulted in inconvenience before she eventually returned to Nigeria.

In a viral video that made the rounds on social media on Monday, a representative of Kenya Airways was seen in a verbal exchange with the passenger.

In the video, a Kenya Airways agent told Ms Omisore she would not be allowed to fly with the airline again. Ms Omisore responded that she was on the phone with Nigeria’s finance minister, but the agent, visibly angry, said she could call the Nigerian president if she wanted.

The incident triggered altercation between NCAA officials and Kenya Airways, including reactions from several users of the social media platform, X, on Monday.

The NCAA claimed that there has been a long history of maltreatment of Nigerian passengers, including its staffers by Kenya Airways.

Earlier, Mr Achimugu confirmed that the stranded passenger had safely arrived Nigeria and that a meeting had been scheduled with Kenya Airways which will lead to a determination on the case.

Resolutions

On Tuesday, after the meeting with officials of Kenya Airways, Mr Achimugu said it was resolved that Kenya Airways render a public apology to the passenger (Ms Omisore) and the NCAA.

The NCAA also mandated Kenya Airways to issue an updated official statement that reflects the true events that happened in Nairobi because Ms Gloria did not refuse to fly to London as claimed in an official statement issued by the airline on Monday.

“The airline failed to admit that they permitted the passenger to purchase that ticket and that they failed to spot the problem from Lagos. The statement also fails to inform the general public that the lady only became angry when she was asked to wait another 10 hours without accommodation and care,” the NCAA said.

According to the statement, the NCAA has also mandated Kenya Airways to refund and compensate the passenger for the avoidable humiliation she has suffered and the threats to her job.

“Kenya Airways has asked for 72 hours to revert, but the Authority has given the airline 48 hours. Truth should not be that hard to publish, given how hastily the misleading statement was put out there,” the NCAA said, stating that further updates shall be provided on the matter.

Read the NCAA’s spokesperson’s full statement below:

UPDATE:

KENYA AIRWAYS MEETS WITH THE NCAA, APOLOGIZES FOR ILL-TREATMENT OF NIGERIAN PASSENGER AND ADMITS THAT AIRLINE’S OFFICIAL STATEMENT WAS MISLEADING

As Director for Consumer Protection and Public Affairs at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, my duty is to protect all stakeholders, including passengers and airlines.

I have carried out my duties with utmost respect to the regulations of the CAA.

In respect of the now viral case between a Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, and Kenyan Airways, I summoned the airline to my Abuja office today, Tuesday, February 4, 2025.

In attendance were the airline’s Country Manager, James Nganga; Station Manager, Eric Mukira; and Duty Manager, Ezenwa Ehumadu.

The outcome of the meeting is as follows:

1. We informed the airline that the passenger had called Kenya Airways via +254 711 024 747 on December 7, 2025, to inquire if she was qualified to fly the Manchester-Paris-Nairobi-Lagos (inbound) and Lagos-Nairobi-Paris-Manchester route.

According to the passenger, the airline told her that she was qualified, despite her informing them that she is Nigerian, who holds a British resident permit, but no Shenghen visa.

2. It was based on this information from Kenya Airways that she proceeded to purchase the ticket. She flew the first leg into Nigeria via Paris and Nairobi with no incidence.

*The airline has asked for time to check their recorded call log and confirm if that call actually happened. They have been granted 48 hours to do so.

For her outbound flight, the airline boarded and flew the passenger out of Lagos despite knowing that she needed a transit visa for the Paris leg.

This fault was that of the airline, and it was only discovered in Nairobi.

3. Upon discovery, the airline then offered Ms Gloria a direct flight to London at no extra cost to her, on the condition that she’d wait another 10 hours in addition to the 17-hour layover she had just endured.

Since she was bleeding and exhausted, the passenger demanded accommodation and care because the error was that of the airline. It was when she was denied care that an argument ensued between her and the airline counter staff.

*This is contrary to the intentionally misleading official statement by Kenya Airways claiming that the lady simply refused to re-routing directly to London and started to throw pads around.

*Their team has apologized for the obfuscation of facts in that statement. They have also admitted that, phone call or not, it was the fault of the airline not to have discovered the problem before airlifting the passenger from Lagos.

4. At the NCAA, our regulations mandate all airlines operating in Nigeria to have dedicated customer relations desks/officers who are trained to mediate issues of this nature. If there was compliance with the regulations, the staff would have handled the situation better, and it would never have escalated to the level it did.

5. “CALL YOUR PRESIDENT”

I expressed deep disappointment about the unruly Kenya Airways staff who insulted the office of the President of Nigeria, insinuating that the airline could do anything to Nigerians and NOTHING would happen.

I asked if this manner of addressing customer complaints was the airline’s standard protocol.

The country manager stated in very clear terms that the staff was out of order and apologized for the outburst. When asked what disciplinary measures will be taken against their personnel, he said that his bosses in Nairobi would decide.

That the passenger was right to think that she was due care since she only purchased her ticket based on the airline’s information via phone call. Even at that, assuming but not conceding that there was no phone call, the airline ought not to have boarded the passenger from Lagos. If she was not owed that care, the airline staff ought to have communicated this in a professional manner that need not have escalated to the level it did.

*The airline agreed that poor passenger handling happened in this case, promising to investigate and improve in this regard.

7. The NCAA vehemently rejects any excuse for the unruly behaviour of Ms Gloria. In all of my statements yesterday, and as I have been doing for a year now, I insisted that no excuse was tenable for unruly behaviour. No justification will be made on the passenger’s behalf in this case.

8. That no excuse will also be accepted for the unruly behaviour of Kenya Airways personnel in this matter. They were not only negligent in carrying out their duties, they also caused untold, avoidable hardship on a paying passenger who deserved world-class treatment as applicable to all passengers, irrespective of their nationalities.

9. Everything else that transpired afterwards was due to the intentional, misleading official statement by the airline yesterday, a statement that obfuscated the facts of the matter and presented the passenger as a typically unruly traveller, the NCAA and myself as incompetent rabble rousers, encouraged further insults against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, potentially creating a diplomatic situation and testing the relationship between the CAA and the operator.

*The airline team agreed that the statement was not reflective of the facts of the matter.

The NCAA is therefore worried about the intention behind such a statement, considering how it has impacted this traveller.

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10. We presented evidence to the Kenya Airesys team of their non-responsiveness to customer complaints spanning a 10-month period despite the NCAA regulations giving timeframes for the resolution of cases. We also showed evidence of the airline not honouring commitments made by them when the CAA has intervened in some of these complaints.

I have reminded them of the sanctions applicable to those cases.

*The airline agrees and has asked for time to resolve the cases.

DETERMINATION:

The NCAA Consumer Protection Department thereby determined as follows:

A. That Kenya Airways renders a public apology to the passenger and the NCAA.

B. That the airline issues an updated official statement that reflects the true events that happened in Nairobi. Ms Gloria did not refuse to fly to London as claimed in that statement.

The airline failed to admit that they permitted the passenger to purchase that ticket and that they failed to spot the problem from Lagos. The statement also fails to inform the general public that the lady only became angry when she was asked to wait another 10 hours without accommodation and care.

The Authority finds this very confusing and unacceptable.

C. That the airline will refund and compensate the passenger for the avoidable humiliation she has suffered and the threats to her job.

*Kenya Airways has asked for 72 hours to revert, but the Authority has given the airline 48 hours. Truth should not be that hard to publish, given how hastily the misleading statement was put out there.

Further updates will come after the airline has complied, or failed to comply with this determination.