By Ayodele Oni
Ibom Air has handed over an unruly passenger on Uyo-Lagos flight, Sunday, to the police.
The airline also announced a life ban of Ms Comfort Emmason, from flying on any aicraft operated by it.
In a statement on Monday, the airline stated that, “an incident occurred on board our Uyo–Lagos flight involving a passenger, Ms. Comfort Emmanson, whose conduct posed a serious threat to the safety of our crew, passengers, and aircraft.
“Shortly before take-off from Uyo, Ms. Emmanson was instructed, in line with standard aviation safety procedures, to switch off her mobile phone.
“She bluntly refused to comply until the Pilot-in-Command made an announcement, after which a fellow passenger seated beside her took the phone and switched it off. This action prompted a verbal tirade from Ms. Emmanson. The situation was eventually calmed, and the flight departed as scheduled.
“Upon arrival in Lagos, Ms. Emmanson waited for all other passengers to disembark and then proceeded to confront the Purser who had earlier instructed her.
“She walked up to the unsuspecting Purser, stepped on her, forcibly tore off her wig, removed her glasses and threw it to the floor, and used her footwear to assault her.
“She slapped her several times and when the other cabin crew member tried to intervene, she slapped her too. She then attempted to forcibly remove a fire extinguisher to use as a weapon, an act that could have damaged and grounded the aircraft.
“By this time, the Pilot-in-Command had alerted airport security. Before security could arrive, the Purser, as seen on the viral video on the internet, prevented the passenger from leaving the aircraft until security arrived.
“The arrival of Ibom Air Security personnel, did not deter the passenger as she attacked them as well, lashing out violently at both Ibom Air and FAAN security.
“She was then restrained and removed from the aircraft by force. Even after disembarking, she continued to assault both Ibom Air and FAAN security staff, and even slapped the ground supervisor.
“The passenger was removed from the ramp and taken into custody by FAAN security and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation.
“Ibom Air has since submitted a report on the incident to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and placed a travel restriction on Ms. Emmanson, who will no longer be permitted to fly on any of our aircraft.
“Ibom Air reiterates its zero-tolerance policy towards any form of unruly or violent conduct that threatens the safety of passengers, crew, or equipment. Such behavior will be met with the strongest possible response, including legal action and permanent restriction from our services.
“We commend the bravery and professionalism of our crew in handling this situation under extremely challenging circumstances, as well as the swift support from airport security and the Nigeria Police.”
The incident is coming few days after a popular Fuji musician, KWAM1, attempted to disrupt the services of another airline in Abuja, which has led to his ban indefinitely from flying any aircraft, while investigation is still ongoing.
He has since tendered a public apology to the Pilot, the Airline (ValueJet) Aviation Parastatals and the Federal Government.
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