Vanguard
•Airline gets 72hrs ultimatum to apologise, or face consequences
By Bashir Bello
KANO—The face-off between the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero and Air Peace Airline weekend deepened as the emir issued a 72 hour ultimate to the airline to apology or face the consequences over alleged disrespect.
Recall that face-off started when the Emir and his entourage had a connecting flight to Kano to catch up in Lagos from Banjul but was behind schedule due to a delay departing from Banjul to Lagos by same airline.
It was alleged that the Emir and his entourage pleaded with the airline management to delay the flight takeoff as a respect for the Emir but the airline declined.
The Chief Protocol Officer to the Emir, Isa Bayero had written a letter of complaint to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, seeking punitive actions against Air Peace Airline for what he tagged “disrespect to the emir and the people of Kano State.”
But in a reaction, Air Peace through it Chief Operating Officer, Toyin Olajide, insisted that the airline did not disrespect the Emir as alleged, but protected the image of the Emir from ridicule.
However, the matter took another dimension weekend when the Bayero who doubles as cousin of the Emir issued an ultimatum to the airline to apologise or face the consequences.
According to him, “Since we left Banjul an hour behind schedule, the airline should know they have 10 passengers transiting to Kano and should know the right thing was to reschedule the flight because the delay we had was never our fault. I called severally the management (Chairman of Air Peace, Mr. Onyema) to inform him about our precarious situation but he didn’t pick. Later when he picked he told us it was not possible. Courtesy demands the management should make necessary arrangement for the VIP because I had called the airline while in Banjul to make provision for vehicle that would take the emir from international wing to domestic.