A legal Practitioner in Ogun state, Barr. Kayode Aderemi has demanded a sum of three million naira from the Qatar Airways and Wakanow as refund and damages for missing his flight due to poor service delivery of the airway and booking agency.
Aderemi in a petition addressed to management of Qatar Airway and Wakanow accused the agencies of rescheduling his flight without notifying him.
The petition dated 10th November, 2021 and obtained by our correspondent claimed the legal Practitioner lost not less than N1.5 million due to the flight irregularities.
The popular human right activist lamented that he missed his flight despite getting to the airport six hours before his supposed ‘scheduled time’.
Narrating his ordeal, Barr. Aderemi said, “On 17th October, 2021, I needed to book a flight for myself and 3 kids. Our departure place is Nigeria and destination, Manchester, UK.
“I contacted Wakanow.com limited and they booked with booking refs:
STEJZV and TPL2WS, for I and the kids respectively, with Qatar Airways. I paid N867, 899.00 (eight hundred and sixty seven thousand, eight hundred and ninety nine Naira).
“Because I had to change my ticket to two-way (return), on 26, October,
2021, I paid additional N283, 000.00 (two hundred and eighty-three thousand Naira).
“My flight was scheduled for 8:55pm, November 3, 2021. As advised, I
and my 3 kids arrived at the MMIA (Airport) at 2:00pm on November 3, 2021. We were checked-in and made all incidental payments at the Airport.
“To my rude shock, at about 3:00pm of the same November 3, 2021, when I was to confirm at the Qatar Airways shelf at the Airport, I was informed that my flight had departed very early in the morning of
November 3, 2021.”
The legal practitioner however lamented that efforts to get the airway and booking agency to do something about it yielded no result.
He added,”I immediately approached the Qatar airways staff office inside the Airport and they told me and those that accompanied me that there was nothing
that they could do about it. All pleas that we made that the time differential was not my fault and that I did not get any notification of flight reschedule fell on deaf ears.
“Meanwhile, I saw several other Qatar airways passengers that had the
same ordeal as mine – they also did not get any notification of flight
reschedule.
“At about 3:30pm, I contacted the Wakanow.com limited business hub
inside the Airport and reported my ordeal to them but the staff there also informed me that there was nothing that they could do except to give me some phone numbers.
“They gave me 0908-787-3488 and 0817-637-2939. I placed several calls
to the lines until about 11:00 pm of November 3, 2021; sadly, none of my
calls were answered!
“Left with no actionable choice on ways out from both Wakanow.com limited and Qatar Airways, I was forced to book another flight at about 1:57am on November 4, 2021 at the sum of N1,371, 000.00 (one million, three hundred and seventy-one thousand, Naira).”
Aderemi demanded the refund of N1.3 million paid for the flight with a damage fee of N2 million.
He added,”Without delay, kindly refund the sum of N1, 371, 000.00 (one million, three hundred and seventy-one thousand, Naira) that I was forced to pay for re-booking.
“N2, 000, 000.00 (two million Naira), for the avoidable trouble, stress and embarrassment that you have put my family through.”
