No fewer than 280 passengers of Turkish Airlines were
stranded at the Lagos Airport, on Thursday, following the technical fault
developed by the airlines' aircraft that was scheduled to transport them to
Istanbul on Tuesday.
The aircraft carrying 300 passengers had developed a
technical fault before its take-off at the Murtala Muhammed International
Airport in Lagos.
It was gathered that the flight was aborted immediately the
pilot detected the fault and that the airline's management later lodged the passengers
at Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac Town in Lagos State.
The passengers were assured by the airline that they would
be checked-in into the next available Turkish flight scheduled for Wednesday.
However, on Wednesday, the airlines' shuttle bus allegedly
came to the hotel with instructions by its operators that it was to pick only
20 passengers to fill up the remaining seats in the flight.
The situation was said to have led to the passengers scrambling
for space, insisting that they must all travel with the flight.
The situation was said to have been further worsened by the
failure of the airlines' officials to calm frayed nerves by refusing to address
the passengers.
A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who visited the
hotel around 10.00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, spoke with some of
the passengers, who expressed grievances at the alleged shoddy treatment meted
out to them by the airline.
They alleged that the airline only took 20 passengers to
another aircraft while the rest were left to their fate.
Mr Pakison George told NAN that he was travelling from
Nigeria to Italy via Istanbul, adding that he was frustrated by the delay
caused by the airline.
"I am travelling from Nigeria to Italy, through Turkish
Airline. The problem was that the aircraft we boarded couldn't move because we
heard a huge noise coming out from the aircraft.
"The pilot had to return and we all alighted after
spending more than two hours in the aircraft but the airline's management later
lodged us in a hotel here.
"Right now, we are still waiting for them to take us to
the airport but this evening, we heard a news that the airline just took 20
passengers out of 300 passengers that were in the aircraft initially," he
said.
George, therefore, appealed to the airline to release
another aircraft from its fleet that would convey them to the Turkey.
Another passenger, Mr Andreno Johnson, complained about the
lack of communication between the airline and its passengers on the resolution
of the issue.
Johnson said: "We were to fly on Tuesday but the
aircraft had a technical problem and we were inside the plane for close to
between one and two hours before we were disembarked.
"However, there was no information from the airline
until about 3.00 a.m. and it was not until we raised an alarm that they checked
us into a hotel.
Another passenger who pleaded anonymity told NAN that it was
wrong for the Turkish airline to create space for only 20 passengers out of the
lot.
"We have been at the hotel since Tuesday and the
airline came to take 20 people. We don't know if they are special people or
not," the passenger said.
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