Nigerian minors between the ages of 11 and 15 who are students of Glisten International College, Abuja, were left stranded at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Turkey, due to the failure of Turkish Airlines to airlift them back to Nigeria as scheduled.
THISDAY gathered that the students, who
were 22 in number, were abandoned at the instance of the airline, which
did not provide them with accommodation. Instead, they were forced to
sleep at the airport terminal and were given blankets to ward off the
severe cold.
Informed source told THISDAY that the
students who had travelled to the United States to represent Nigeria in a
competition a few weeks ago, were forced to part with the sum of $40
(N15,200) each, totaling $880, before they were allowed to sleep at the
airport under the severe cold.
A source close to the school who
confirmed the development to THISDAY, said that the team had boarded
Turkish Airlines flight from Abuja to the U.S., with a stopover at
Istanbul Airport.
But the airline, on the return trip,
failed to airlift the students as scheduled and did not provide them
with befitting accommodation until when they were stranded.
He revealed that the flight from the
U.S. to Istanbul was delayed for an hour by the same airline and by the
time it eventually arrived at Istanbul for the connecting flight, the
Istanbul-Abuja flight had already departed.
The source said when the team asked the
management of the airline in Turkey for better accommodation, the
airline declined, saying that it could not be held responsible for their
accommodation, despite the fact that the airline was responsible for
the delayed flight from the U.S.
“Our pupils, students and instructors
went to the US to represent Nigeria and were supposed to return on
Monday, but missed the return flight to Nigeria because the flight from
U.S., which was equally Turkish Airlines, was delayed by an hour and by
the time we got to Istanbul, the flight to Abuja had already departed.
“When that happened, we approached them
for accommodation for our team, but the airline said they won’t be
responsible for accommodation or feeding of our team.
“Rather, we were told to sleep in the
resting room of the terminal and we had to pay from our purse, which
negates international regulations, as the airline ought to taken care of
its passengers under the circumstances.
“These are children between the ages of
11 and 15 and they were exposed to this harsh treatment. Could they have
done that with their own citizens? Or will they allow any Nigerian
carrier to do that to their citizens in Nigeria?
“I am begging our government to take up
this challenge because these kids went to represent Nigeria in the US,”
the source who was on the same trip but preferred not to be named, said.
When contacted Turkish Airlines refused
to comment on the incident, as the airline’s representative in Nigeria,
KunmoCom PR, told THISDAY that the email sent to the airline’s
headquarters in Istanbul was not replied.
Turkish Airlines has fallen short in its
customer services department on its Nigerian route in the past. Last
year, the airline ran into trouble when it left the luggage of several
passengers in Istanbul for several days, leading to a fracas at the
Abuja airport.
The Consumer Protection Council (CPC), which waded into the crisis, later sanctioned the airline.
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