ARIK AIR - The Nightmare Airline by Aniere Ebuzoeme

You book a ticket to fly from one destination into another and return back to your originating destination with expectation of minimal or no fault flight. This is called reservation subject to the Carrier’s terms and conditions.  There are Regulations and Conventions that these Airlines are subjected to, ensuring that they are compliant, good service delivery, compromise passengers’ safety, avoid harm to passengers and or airlines users. Airlines within the European Union, what I will call Euro Zone, are governed by EU Denied Boarding Regulations 261/2004. , other Airlines outside Euro Zone such as Arik Air, are govern by the Warsaw Convention, as amended in 1955/6 including the Montreal Convention. In the UK, Section 10 of the Carriage Act incorporated the convention as well. A Claimant would obviously rely on breach of contract in addition to these other regulations and conventions where applicable. There are other domestic laws one can rely upon however, they are outside my discussion herein.

My personal experience

I booked a return ticket London –Lagos and Asaba and returning via the same route with Arik Air in 2015.  The out-bound flight was satisfactory save for the poor appalling service on board the flight. This is exemplified by the food and drinks served on 1/4/2015. The nightmare began with my return journey leaving the abysmal service received out bound journey, my flight scheduled to fly on 1/5/2015 from Asaba to Lagos was cancelled without notice despite the Airline through their Agents having my email address and phone number. I inconvenienced myself, travelling by road to Lagos that night and lodging in a hotel for my return flight the next day. I left my hotel in Lagos early on 2/5/2015 and took a Taxi to the Muritala Mohammed Airport, on reaching the airport the flight was cancelled, again without notice.

The Arik staffs were very unhelpful in terms of providing proper professional information why we were not pre-warned of the cancellation, what were the reasons for the cancellation, most of us from outside Lagos, what were the arrangements for food, accommodation, fare and so on such as one could at least take out telephone numbers to keep us updated on the developments. None at all! We were left at our perils and given that I ran out of Naira, it was challenging. Ironically, though the Arik Air asserts “aviation fuel” as their reason for cancellation, Air France, Virgin Airline, Turkeys or Turkish Airlines were flying passengers in and out of Nigeria.  The cancellation and the abysmal treatments were so significant that I vowed to do something, apparently this is the Arik’s cause célèbre and I am not tolerating such an abominable behaviour from Arik Air.

Legal Proceedings

How do you make, seek, relief for extremely lack of delivery of competency and satisfactory services by Arik Air? I sent them a letter with schedule of my loss, leaving aside the unreasonable delay before they responded; the reply was condescending and showed utter lack of insight in what I went through. I had no money, my wife had to send me monies for hotel accommodation, food and transport fare. In addition, I ran out of my medication which I was dependent upon and had to make do with over the counter prescription from HMedics or some pharmacy like that, including loss of earnings as I could not return back to work.

After a protocol letter, I filed and served Arik Air a claim form. Throughout the proceedings, it was incompetency all the way through with (a) Arik Air’s failure to file a properly pleaded defence (b) when ordered to file a defence with interim costs order awarded against them, a weak defence was  filed without written evidence they rely upon save for their terms and conditions of carriage.

Arik Air was found liable under the Warsaw Convention for failing to take any measures whatsoever to put me on another flight or provide accommodation for me and other of my needs. The damages awarded were minimal as you can see from the order but it was not a hallow victory because we should not accept poor inadequate service delivery as a norm because we are Africans or those poor services is synonymous with Nigerian industries. We have to stand up and be counted against poor services from Nigerian service and financial sectors to say the least. I retained the numbers of two passengers, following our return from Nigeria to the UK, I advised them of my intention to file a claim against Arik Air and that we should bring a class action. One of them told me later that he has taken advice and was advised that there were no arguable claim. This is how some of us live in ignorance and breed ignorance by seeking unsound legal advice and having their rights infringed upon.

My thoughts on the case Ebuzoeme vs Arik Air at the Lambeth County Court on 24/6/2016, Claim number: B1QZ1M97

You have heard the saying where there is wrong or unlawful act, there must be a legal remedy or relief. The appalling behaviour of Arik Air continued after the trial in that now they want to offer or get me to sign a compromised agreement. Is it not an outrage or utter displace of lack of knowledge of UK law and procedures, in a claim where liability was found against Arik Air, Arik Air now wants to settle the case or offer terms of settlement. This is an absurdity of Arik Air and their unsatisfactory behaviours, which must stop forthwith.

The court order is available on request and I am available for limited legal consultation subject to a fee.  Mr Ebuzoeme is a Solicitors Advocate of England and Wales, who specialised in criminal law, civil, family, employment and other areas of UK law and procedures.

Mr O Aniere Ebuzoeme

A Vincent Solicitors

Solicitors Advocate

A. Vincent Solicitors

1C Woolwich New Road

London SE18 6EX

Tel: 020 8316 5858

Email: [email protected]