…Passengers allege abandonment, demand urgent intervention
More than 120 Nigerian passengers stranded at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, Kenya, staged a protest on Monday night over prolonged flight delays and cancellations that left some unable to travel to Lagos for more than 24 hours.
The protest began at about 10pm on Monday, 31 August, after hours of uncertainty, repeated changes to departure times and what passengers described as inadequate communication and welfare arrangements.
The affected travellers said they had received several assurances that their flight would depart, only for the schedule to be changed repeatedly.
Passengers initially expected the Nairobi-Lagos flight to leave at about 8.15pm, but they said different departure times of 6.15pm, 7pm and eventually 10.50pm were communicated.
By 10.50pm, with no clear indication that the flight would operate, frustration among the passengers boiled over, prompting them to protest inside the airport terminal.
The travellers complained that they had not been given a definite explanation about the delays or clear information on when they would be able to continue their journey.
Some said they had spent more than 24 hours at the airport after earlier flight disruptions, while no hotel accommodation had been arranged for those forced to remain overnight.
The prolonged disruption has reportedly affected elderly passengers, families and other travellers, including pregnant women and children. One child among the stranded passengers was said to have fallen ill.
One of the protesters said passengers were frustrated by the repeated changes to the flight schedule.
“We have been here for hours without any certainty about when we are leaving. The time keeps changing, yet nobody is giving us a definite explanation. Some Nigerians have been caught up in this situation for more than 24 hours,” the passenger said.
Another traveller said the protest was prompted by the lack of a clear response to their concerns.
“We are more than 120 Nigerians here. People are tired and frustrated. What we want is simple: tell us when we are leaving, provide accommodation where necessary and treat passengers with dignity,” the passenger said.
The protesters called on the airline and airport authorities to urgently provide a definite arrangement for their onward journey to Lagos.
They also appealed to the Nigerian diplomatic authorities in Kenya and aviation officials in Nigeria to intervene and assist passengers affected by the disruption.
As of 10pm on Monday, the passengers were still waiting for confirmation of when they would be able to leave Nairobi for Lagos.
