Stranded Without Luggage — Passengers Accuse Air Côte d’Ivoire Of Withholding Bags After Lagos Arrival

Passengers inbound to Nigeria from Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast, have expressed their dissatisfaction with Air Côte d’Ivoire’s refusal to bring their luggage to Nigeria three days after they arrived.

The passengers who joined the flight in a connecting arrangement in Abidjan to Nigeria said the airline intentionally left all their luggage behind without informing them about the development.

The aggrieved passengers who spoke with our correspondent separately over the phone noted that they were coming from the United States of America via Ethiopian Airlines through a connecting flight arrangement, they boarded a Côte d’Ivoire airline inbound Nigeria on Thursday.

The passengers further told our correspondent that upon arrival in Nigeria, the airline announced to them that their luggage had not arrived in the country with them.

One of the passengers, Felicia Aina, who told our correspondent that she was in Nigeria for an occasion added that she alongside other passengers have kept checking with the airline for the luggage since Thursday, but all efforts to get their bags are futile.

Felicia added that her dress, which she was expected to wear for her Saturday engagement, was in the yet-to-arrive luggage.

She said, “ They never told us that our luggage would not arrive with us, this is very frustrating. Another passenger who had drugs in her bag was so devastated when the news was broken to us.

“I just couldn’t help it. I am currently very unhappy with the development.”

Another passenger who refused to give her name over the fear of the unknown said close to 30 passengers who joined the flight from Abidjan were yelling at the airline when the news was broken at the Lagos airport.

He said, “ How could they have dropped our bags without informing us? What if there are life-saving drugs that must be taken in the bag? This is terrible, and the government needs to do something. We are being taken for granted, and this is painful.

“For instance, my aunt is supposed to fly out of the country from Abuja tomorrow. She waited for me because there is something I am supposed to give to her, she booked her ticket already but now what do we do? And they didn’t talk about compensation at all.”

The passenger further suspected that the airline may have carried cargo in place of passengers’ luggage, threatening that he may explore legal options if his bag does not get to the country before mid of the coming week.

Meanwhile, Air Côte d’Ivoire does not operate a corporate office in Nigeria, nor do they have a spokesperson or communication representative in Nigeria.

However, when our correspondent called the customer care unit of the airline disguised as a passenger, the representative who refused to give his name said, “Hopefully, the bags may arrive on Saturday.”

When asked why the airline refused to load the luggage into the aircraft, he said “Well for me, I don’t know what’s happening, The flight was cancelled yesterday(Friday) and we were told that the flight would come today but we are yet to see it. I think they came with a small plane on Thursday, a CRJ, so the bags could not enter the aircraft for safety purposes.

“They are coming with a bigger flight today, so let us be hopeful.”

When contacted, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, said that in a case where a bag should be left behind, the passengers must be informed of the development.

He added that the airline is also expected to pay over a $100 first-need charge to each of the affected passengers.

He, however, promised to check the complaint with his officers and swing into action immediately.

He said “In aviation, it happens like that when the weight becomes too much for the aircraft, for safety reasons some bags may be dropped after but that should be after informing the passengers and in such cases, if they are not missing bags, their responsibility is to have the bags on the next flight coming into Nigeria.

“Even at that, over $100 should be paid to each of the affected passengers. Should they refuse to pay and the issue had to be escalated to the NCAA, the airline would have to pay $170 first-need compensation to each of the passengers.

“But we can’t take over a case that has not been officially reported, but I am on my way to the office now. If the complaint has been filed, our officers will start work on it immediately.”