Nigerian Flight Deck Travel and Business Reportage
- Says it would have airlifted 700 passengers on 27th
MED- VIEW Airline today explained the reason for its delayed flight out of London, Gatwick stating that the airline had to deal with an Aircraft on Ground (AOG) situation compounded by the holidays and other uncomplimentary factors that have made the situation linger.
The airline in a statement issued from the United Kingdom by Mr. Michael Ajigbotosho, the Chief Operating Officer/Accountable Manager (COO/AM) stated that the aircraft had to embark on an air return as part of safety measures.
He also stated that the airline had got approval for three aircraft to airlift at least 700 passengers but for the unruly behavior of some passengers which made Border Force wade in and eventually only two of the flights could leave.
The statement explained the airline’s dilemma,”Our flight VL 2101 out of London to Lagos on Friday December, 22 which has about 300 passengers on board returned back to Gatwick after departure as a precautionary measure taken by the Pilot- in – Command (PiC) in line with Aviation Standard and Recommended Practices.”
“This led to cancellation of the flight as the aircraft was declared AOG (Aircraft On Ground). The passengers were catered for, they were lodged in a hotel and those who decided to go back home were also taken care of.”
“After the aircraft was declared AOG, we had to wait for a maintenance report. The aircraft had to remain on ground until a certified expert carried out the necessary checks and certify that the aircraft is airworthy. And the holiday compounded the problem.”
“In line with that confirmation, we decided to seek for a relief flight and tried as much as possible go get the approval from both the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Nigeria and the CAA of United Kingdom in Gatwick. We attest to their full cooperation and we appreciate them.”
“We announced to operate three flights feeling the concern of all our passengers. On Wednesday December 27, we positioned three aircraft after securing the approval of the CAA including Nigerian authority. ”
“Disappointingly, due to the unruly behaviour of some Nigerian passengers, the Border Force had to intervene to support the operations for crowd control purposes.”
“These three aeroplanes would have evacuated 700 passengers which would have normalized the situation. But the passengers neither understood or knew the challenges ahead which resorted into having a delayed operation and crew rest and we ended up operating two flights out of three.”
“We use this medium to appeal to our Nigerian customers. As much as we appreciate their patronage and apologize for the experience they went through this Christmas, we seek for their understanding to know that their safety comes first before any other thing. ”
“We feel their concern and the expectations of meeting their families for the Christmas Holiday. Our normal flights resume on Friday for London, Dubai and Jeddah. “
WE want to know exactly why flight VL 2101 returned to Gatwick after departure. What went wrong? How often are necessary checks by a certified expert carried out on this single aircraft(?) used by Med-View to convey Nigerian passengers to and from Gatwick ever so often?
DO NOT USE MEDVIEW AIRLINE! They are a group of irresponsible Go-go dancers. This airline shouldn’t be allowed to operate in the UK. You are sure to be left stranded somewhere without any refund of any monies due to you. Ultimately, we are seeking for a ban on Med-View airline from operating in the UK.
Med view airline displayed an abysmal knowledge of customer expectation management. My flight was suppose to take off from Gatwick airport, London on December 25, 2017. I got to the airport promptly by 6pm looking forward to the flight that will reunite me with my family in Lagos after being away for 2weeks.
To start with, the scene at the airport was chaotic with absolutely no order. Over 1,000 passengers were stranded in some very precarious conditions on such a cold winter evening.
Bags and luggage strewed all over the floor. Some parents were trying very hard to reassured their hysterical kids, old people sitting despondently on their wheel chairs wondering why they have been subjected to such misery. Some of them had been returning everyday to the airport with the remote hope that they could eventually check in. I met a guy who came from Birmingham!!!
The staff of Medview airline on ground displayed an incredible lack of purpose, coordination and empathy. They were not armed with the right information to disseminate and do not really care about the vitriolic pain people had been plunged into because of the action or inaction of their airline. They gave out one dirty sheet of paper for the over the 1,000 stranded passengers to enter their private details including name, address, email and contact number. When asked what was the purpose, they said so that they could be contacted whenever they received more information from head office in Nigeria. When pressed for more details, they got offended and went into panic and retreated into the inner office leaving the passengers unattended and in confusion.
On top of issues with the flight-the toture continued as half of the Passengers from Wednesday 27th Dec flight bags were left in London with no warning or explanation. Up until today (Saturday) we have not recieved our bags. MEDVIEW CAN YOU EXPLAIN???
You owe your passengers that at least!