Aero Contractors gets 30 days to compensate passengers

The Federal Government, through the office of the Consumers Protection Agency (CPC), yesterday gave the management of Aero Contractors a 30-day ultimatum within which to pay 39 passengers, whose flight were cancelled without notice on November 8, 2013, the sum of N1.579 million.

The airline was also ordered to pay the passengers 25 per cent of their tickets value.

The passengers were booked on flight AJ 132, belonging to Aero Contractors, scheduled to leave Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, to Lagos at 6pm on the said date but were left to spend the night at the airport.

Speaking in Lagos, yesterday, Director General of CPC, Mrs Dupe Atoki, said the affected 39 out of 135 passengers are to be paid N1.579 million, being the cost of reliefs that should have been provided during the period of delay, in line with the Passenger Bill Right (PBR).

Atoki said if the airline failed to pay the compensation within the stipulated period, its managing director would be prosecuted, adding that the directive to the airline took effect from Friday, last week.

The breakdown of the compensation revealed N5, 000 for snacks and drinks due to the passengers after one hour, meals and drinks due after two hours of delay, N25, 000 for one night of hotel accommodation, N1, 000 for two free telephone calls, SMS or email due to them as well as 25 per cent of passengers’ ticket value for the cancellation of the flight without notice.