The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has fined Qatar Airways N5 million for consumer-protection infractions. This was announced by Michael Achimugu, the Director, Public Affairs & Consumer Protection at NCAA on Wednesday.
“Glad to announce that, today, the NCAA has sanctioned Qatar Airways to the tune of five million naira as being penalty for consumer protection-related infractions.
“In addition, the letters of investigation (LOI) written to the airline over other cases may lead to further sanctions if not treated satisfactorily. As always, the NCAA is committed to protecting the rights of all stakeholders,” he said.
Major Infraction
The infraction which brought about the sanction relates to an incident in September during boarding for a Qatar Airways flight from Lagos to the United States via Doha when a member of the airline’s cabin crew alleged that a male passenger, who was travelling with his wife touched her butt while she was wheeling a passenger during boarding in Lagos.
The crew member is said not to have reported the incident to airport or airline authorities in Lagos. However, upon arrival in Doha, the crew member made a formal allegation of sexual harassment against the passenger. Qatari authorities promptly arrested him, and he was detained for about eighteen hours. During this period, his wife who insists she was with him throughout the boarding process and says she did not witness any such act was reportedly left without care or support.
Doha authorities made the man pay a hefty fine and forced him to sign a document written ONLY in Arabic! Desperate for freedom to proceed on his journey to the US, the passenger signed a document which contents he did not understand. Despite this, the airline refused to fly him to his final destination. He had to buy tickets on another airline and proceed at great financial and reputational cost.
