On a flight full of frustration
The day finally came and our flight with Kabo Air was scheduled to take off by 3pm. We were however to begin boarding at about 2.30pm. Most of the passengers at the local departure hall of the Nmadi Azikiwe International Airport were bound for Yola. With the kind of population I saw I kept wondering […]
The day finally came and our flight with Kabo Air was scheduled to take off by 3pm. We were however to begin boarding at about 2.30pm. Most of the passengers at the local departure hall of the Nmadi Azikiwe International Airport were bound for Yola. With the kind of population I saw I kept wondering what kind of local flight was going to airlift all of us to our destination.
By 3.30 we were still standing in the departure lounge waiting to board but it was an endless wait. Every time an announcement was made it was for Arik or Dana Air passengers. This experienced dampened me. Our flight was delayed over three hours without any logical or courteous explanation from the Airline.
When we were finally allowed to board, not a single announcement was made. We just saw people moving in droves and we followed suit like sheep. Lo! It was our flight to!
To our dismay, passengers had to drag their luggage up the tarmac about 1km to where the Boeing 747 aircraft was stationed without a carriage van to move them to the plane. Many passengers had trolleys while some women had to carry kids as well as their luggage. They had no choice than to drag each alternatively to the plane. A woman was almost in tears; I took pity and went back after dropping my bag at the ramp to help her with her baby and other bags. I wondered why the passengers have to carry their luggage themselves!
Finally, we took off at about 6.45pm. I could not believe what I saw on board. As the air hostess and her male colleague got closer, I saw it vividly for real. They had plastic cups in their hands and bottles of water. They were going round with them asking if anyone wanted water. If one answered in the affirmative, he was served some in the plastic cup and the remaining given to someone else. When it got to my turn, I retorted with the words, “Really, are you guys serious?” They both smiled and said I should please bear with them as they had constraints. Not satisfied I queried again, “even with all the money you collected from ticket sales?” This time around, they offered me a full bottle of water and walked away with a smile. I couldn’t help but wonder what image the European Union (EU) Ambassador would have of our orientation being one of the personalities bound for Yola on the same flight.
We arrived safely and went off to the graduation ground. It went smoothly. It was during this occasion that Atiku Abubakar told the world how he actually took a big gamble in setting up the institution. It was a glamorous occasion as we felicitated with graduating friends and their relatives.
On sunday after the graduation, there were no flights from Yola, the best we could get was a 6am flight via Kabo Air on monday morning. As early as 4pm we were up and ready to go to the Airport; we could not risk missing the flight because most of us had to be in office.
We made it to the airport by 5am and settled into the departure hall of the Yola International Airport which could pass for one of the common rooms in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. Someone asked “did they say this is an international Airport?” We carried on with our discussions on the state of things in Yola, the state capital of Adamawa which was rather ironical (a discussion for another day). Little did we know we were in for another shocker!
The departure hall was crowded with people most of whom were standing because there were few seats in the hall. The place got stuffy as there was not a single AC unit in place anywhere. Passengers got restless in the heat and that was when we realized that it was almost 10am. Our flight had been delayed again and like in Abuja, there was no explanation for this delay.
Passengers had started getting agitated and asking questions. At first people thought it was AUN that chattered the flight but upon inquiry from the school’s Abuja Director, Mr. Sameer Yeshwanth, he explained that AUN had nothing to do with the flight’s delay as they themselves were in a fix trying to get their special guests back to Abuja. He was actually in a tense situation from the way he paced to and from the information center. He was also meeting parents one-on-one pacifying them.
Shortly after, an announcement was made by AUN Assistant VP for Public Relations and Communications, Abba Tahir, that the management of AUN had intervened with the sum of N3million for the immediate airlift of their VIPs, guests and parents of graduating students. They were applauded for their effort; that was around 11.15 am. Abba, Sameer and the AUN Staff were even on the tarmac to get the plane airborne.
Soon our joy turned to anger. We got news that the airline owed the airport and so till it pay up the debt, it would not be allowed to fly. This time around passengers could not hold back their furry and tempers flared.
It was not until 1pm that we were asked to start boarding the Boeing 747. At the checking point small tickets were piled up for passenger to pay N1000; it was then I saw the adage ‘hell knows no fury like the temper of a woman’ being enacted. She was the first on the queue and when she was asked to pay she looked at the official, lashed at him before she snatched her boarding pass and walked right past him to the tarmac. Everyone followed suit without the officials having the courage to stop anyone. The ticket we later understood was FAAN passenger service charge.
Not done, we sat in the plane for another 1hr. This time around passengers engaged the flight crew in verbal war. It was not until some of us called Servicom and Consumer Protection Council that they saw the seriousness of the situation and decided to take off. From the way the pilot took off we knew that he was in a bad mood and all we hoped for was a safe flight.
The 1hr flight was one far from smooth. This time around, we were not even offered a cup of water; even if we were offered, with the kind of turbulence and imbalance in flight, we couldn’t have had the courage to drink the water.
When we touched dawn at about 3.10pm, there was a big sigh of relief as one could tell that everyone had a silent prayer going in his or her mind. After the captain announced our arrival at the Abuja International Airport and hoped that we make Kabo Air our choice of flight next time, there was a resounding “God forbid” and “Allah Ya kiyaye” chorus from passengers.
The normal warm complimentary gesture usually done by one or two of the crew members on your way out of a plane was surprisingly offered by Mr. Sameer Yeshwanth. Sadly, no one was in the mood to throw a smile back at him, he was on his own.
As I stepped into the arrival hall I could not help but think aloud: “when can we get it right in this country?”