Aggrieved passengers of Medview, a Nigerian domestic airline operator, have dragged the company before the Federal High Court in Lagos to seek redress over the cancellation of a scheduled flight after several hours of delay.
Maj. Gen. Obidah Ethan (retd.) and Kayode Babalola, in addition to 29 other passengers who were scheduled to travel on the cancelled flight, filed the suit against Medview Airline.
According to the details of the suit, Flight VL2120 and VL2118, Lagos to Kaduna and Abuja, on Sunday, August 13, 2017 had been scheduled for take-off at 4:00pm at the Murtala Mohammed local Airport, but was initially delayed from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. According to the plaintiffs, this delay was only announced after they had checked in for the flight.
Furthermore, it was stated in their claim that the Medview flight did not take off at the announced 6:00pm, and there was no communication from the airline until 7:30pm, when a reason for the delay was not stated.
The delay and lack of communication from the airline officials aggravated the waiting passengers who verbally protested the long hours of wait without sufficient information. The passengers were assured that they would fly that day.
At 10:00pm, after a six-hour wait from the original take-off time, it was announced that the flight had been cancelled. Members of staff of the defendant airline, Medview, had left the airport at this time, leaving passengers distressed and stranded with some of them missing very important appointments at their destinations.
The plaintiffs are praying the court to grant them N1 million each, as general and aggravated damages, with an additional N1m, each, as exemplary and punitive damages against Medview Airline for negligence.
Image Credit: The Guardian
