Lome, Togo airport saga: Asky Airlines apologises; States its side of the story

Asky Airlines, which is at the center of the ill treatment of Nigerian passengers who were flying from the United States of America (US) to Lagos on Saturday, December 18, 2021, has tendered “sincere” apology for the incident that saw some of the travelers manhandled, handcuffed and dragged around the floor of the Eyadema International Airport terminal for demanding their rights.

The Lome Togo-based Asky Airline, which is in partnership with Ethiopian Airlines for connecting flights to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos and other locals in the region, in a letter to the Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), also used the opportunity to state its own side of the sad story which enraged many across the world. The airline equally expressed “regret that such an isolated incident happened.”

Following exclusive reports of the scandalous humiliation of the Lagos bound passengers by GPNews and the release of a video of the harsh, almost inhuman treatment of the passengers, which went viral, some Nigerians, reacting from different parts of the world had called for the immediate commencement of boycott of Ethiopian Airlines and the institution of lawsuits demanding apology and huge monetary compensation for the ordeal that the travelers went through in the hands of the airline officials and Togolese security officials.

In its letter to the NCAA boss, by Simon Mobolaji, its Country Manager, Nigeria, Asky Airlines claimed that the crisis was caused by “an IT system discrepancy problem that affected its Central Reservation System, which coordinates bookings on codeshare flights with its partner airlines and airport check in system.”

According to the letter, with reference number Ref: _052_/21/ASKY/CMN, the discrepancy affected some of the “passengers with connection in Lomé airport going to Lagos from US operated flight ET509 by Ethiopian airlines, in such a way that their bookings were not found on the ASKY operated flight KP62 already fully booked from Lomé to Lagos on Saturday December 18th, 2021.”

Some of those affected by the incident, who are still incensed, said that while the apology is a first good step to take, Ethiopian Airlines with who the passengers entered a contract in the US should not be absolved of culpability.

They insist that they would still expect the outcome of the investigation by the Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Mr. Debo Adesina, arguing that it was important to use the incident to make the statement that Nigerians (and anyone else for that matter) should not be so humiliated or manhandled for demanding their rights, as there would be consequences for such actions at the diplomatic, economic and legal levels.

Full text of the letter reads

ASKY’S REACTION TO THE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED WITH PASSENGERS AND THE AIRPORT SECURITY FORCES AT THE LOMÉ – TOGO, INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON SATURDAY 18 DECEMBER 2021.

Dear Sir,

For a few days now, ASKY has been trying to fix an IT system discrepancy problem that affected its Central Reservation System, which coordinates bookings on codeshare flights with its partner airlines and airport check in system.

This discrepancy affected some of our esteemed passengers with connection in Lomé airport going to Lagos from US operated flight ET509 by Ethiopian airlines, in such a way that their bookings were not found on the ASKY operated flight KP62 already fully booked from Lomé to Lagos on Saturday December 18th, 2021.

Some passengers became overwhelmed as their bookings were not found in the system, they blocked the security control area and transit area for other passengers and forced their way aggressively to the boarding gates. In this process they became physical with the agents and some police forces of the airport until additional support had to be called in for them to be restrained.

ASKY management present at the scene assured the passengers to be calm as immediate arrangements were made to charter a separate aircraft to transport the passengers whose bookings were not found. All passengers finally got to their destination Lagos same day using the separate chartered aircraft.

We sincerely apologize and regret that such an isolated incident happened between our esteemed passengers and the airport security forces. We assure everyone that the issue has been resolved to avoid any other further occurrences.

As a regional Pan African airlines our primary objective is to serve our communities and ensure that our passengers and their luggage get to their destination safely using the shortest possible time. This is therefore an isolated incident caused by a system discrepancy and corrective measures have already been taken to ensure this does not happen again.

Once again, we sincerely apologize for the incident and do take this opportunity to extend our best Christmas greetings and prosperous New Year wishes 2022 to all our passengers, partners and stakeholders.

Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Simon MOBOLAJI

Country Manager, Nigeria