A Nigerian airline, Air Peace, has debunked claims that on April 8, 2024, it abandoned passengers at Gatwick Airport, London, and shut down the counter before closing time because its aircraft was overbooked.
Reacting to a social media video where the allegation was made, the airline said it was untrue, describing it as an attempt to deliberately tarnish its reputation.
The airline explained that the airport operates by slot timings allocated to each of the airlines operating out of the airport, adding that the check-in operations of airlines were slot-based and airlines take turns based on their approved times.
“Once your slot timing is up, you must vacate the counters for the next airline’s utilisation. The check-in process ends at 09:00 AM, as advised in the terms and conditions section of our e-ticket and website, and the counter was vacated by Air Peace in accordance with our slot allocation at 09:55 AM,” the airline said.
It added: “To prevent missed flights, we send multiple reminders to passengers before departure (24hrs, 14 hrs, and 6 hrs prior). Flight departure was scheduled for 11:10 am, and all processes adhered to this time.
“The claim of flight overbooking is untrue. Both the UK and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authorities can verify our manifest. Some seats were unoccupied on departure, proving no overbooking occurred.
“CCTV from Gatwick Airport shows when the passenger arrived at our counter and when the video was made. The late passenger paid the no-show fee and was rebooked on a subsequent flight, resolving the issue at the airport. Air Peace strives to serve passengers effectively but requires adherence to specific times for seamless travel.”
