One of Nigerian airline operators, Air Peace has accused Senator Adams Oshiomhole of deliberately peddling false claims against its officials.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Air Peace’s management said the lawmaker lied blatantly when he accused the airline of extorting its passengers.
The airline further challenged Oshiomhole to present evidence of his allegations that passengers have been extorted.
“The Senator lied blatantly when he accused Air Peace of extorting its passengers. We challenge Senator Oshiomole to bring evidence of passengers who were extorted.
“None of our staff ever extorted any passenger. In fact, no ticket was sold after the closure of check-in on that flight. Everyone who flew bought their ticket prior to the flight closure,” the airline said in the statement.
Recall that Oshiomhole and the management of Air Peace have been engaged in a war of words after the lawmaker was refused boarding for arriving late for a scheduled flight.
The lawmaker according to eyewitnesses also tried to prevent the airline officials from boarding other passengers at the airport.
He claimed that the officials of the airline had approached him to ways alternative ways of getting him on board the flight but he refused.
According to Oshiomhole, he had insisted on being treated like any other passenger.
He also called on the aviation authorities to ban the airline from its operations for extorting passengers by overbooking its planes.
However, in its response, Air Peace said their flight was never overbooked.
The airline said that the particular aircraft under contention took off with over 30 empty seats.
The management of Air Peace stated that they were eager to board the lawmaker and others who had missed the flight rather than fly almost empty but for its strict compliance with keeping to the scheduled time.
“It’s absolutely false that he was offered preferential treatment and that he was fighting for others. Senator Oshiomole was not fighting for anyone.
“He came to the airport late and was told that he was late. He then began to foment trouble,” Air Peace said.
The airline also accused the lawmaker of disrupting activities on the conveyor belt and preventing the check-in process of other passengers.
In addition, the airline said Oshiomhole barricaded and prevented passengers from accessing the boarding gate and deliberately instigated other passengers against Air Peace.
Describing Oshimhole’s conduct as shameful, unfortunate and violent, Air Peace urged the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to release the CCTV footage of the incident between the airline officials and the lawmaker at the airport.