The Consumer Protection Council (CPC), has resolved to sanction Turkish Airlines if it fails to comply with a directive to provide full situation report on recent incidents, leading to complaints over abuse of consumer rights by the airline.
In a letter dated January 21, 2015, signed by its Director Legal Services, Mr. Emmanuel Ataguba, the Council had given Turkish Airlines seven days to comply with its directive failing which it would face the full wrath of the law. The Council’s tough stance is coming on the heels of the lack-lustre approach of Turkish Airlines to complaints about its shoddy treatment of passengers on its flight TK 623 of Sunday December 20 and subsequent flights, which arrived Abuja from Istanbul during the yuletide, without the baggage of passengers.
The said passengers, some of who travelled with minors, including those whose destinations were outside Abuja, were allegedly subjected to untold hardships, as they were forced to repeatedly check the Airport in Abuja for their baggage, without any form of support by the airline.
Consequently, CPC requested the airline to provide it with a full situation report of the said events, including Turkish Airline’s policy on delayed baggage, particularly as regards the compensation of affected passengers, the number of affected passengers, the number of passengers who are yet to receive their baggage and when same is expected to arrive, including steps, if any, that have been taken to provide appropriate redress to the affected passengers.
However, the airline in a belated response to CPC failed to give any useful information on the issues raised by the Council, stating instead that it had attended several meetings with different agencies of government in connection with the matter.
The airline also claimed that it had resolved the situation completely, contrary to new complaints received by CPC indicating that another batch of baggage failed to arrive with the passengers on January 9. 2016
More so, CPC continues to receive complaints that affected passengers are not being compensated by Turkish Airlines.
Reacting to the situation, the Council’s Director General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, said the airline should have realised that the days of impunity when businesses ride roughshod on the rights of Nigerian consumers are over.
She said “apart from extant laws and regulations in the country, the operations of Turkish Airlines are bound by international standards and practices.”
According to Mrs. Atoki, “CPC will not allow any company to mete out to Nigerian consumers treatment that it will not subject consumers anywhere else in the world.”
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