Kenya Always recants, admits fault in ill-treatment of Nigerian

Kenya Always no Tuesday experienced the efficacy of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s Consumer Protection regulations as it admitted faults in the ill-treatment of a Nigerian lady, Gloria Omisore who officials of the airline denied boarding a connecting flight in Nairobi after assuring her of the voyage before she purchased the tickets last December 2024.

A viral video of altercations between staffers of the east Africa country’s airline and Gloria at a transfer counter in Nairobi had drawn condemnations on social media following the unsavory manner the passenger was treated after the airline claimed she had no Schengen visa for the trips, with a female staff calling out at the President of Nigeria.

The airline had also in a statement accused the Nigerian of throwing used sanitary pads at its officials but with no evidence to back up the claim.

However, officials of the airline in Nigeria on Tuesday recanted and apologized for the rude behaviours of its staff after admitting it erred in the saga at a meeting with NCAA in Abuja.

Director of Consumer Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, Mr. Micheal Achimugu who had earlier condemned the actions of the airline and its staff summoned it Nigerian representative where they apologized.

At a meeting in Abuja, Kenya Airways Country Manager, James Nganga, it Station Manager, Eric Mukira; and Duty Manager, Ezenwa Ehumadu took blame and apologized to Nigerians.

In a post on his official X handle, he said “As Director for Consumer Protection and Public Affairs at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, my duty is to protect all stakeholders, including passengers and airlines. I have carried out my duties with utmost respect to the regulations of the CAA.”

“In respect of the now viral case between a Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, and Kenyan Airways, I summoned the airline to my Abuja office today, Tuesday, February 4, 2025.”

Achimugu disclosed that “In attendance were the airline’s Country Manager, James Nganga; Station Manager, Eric Mukira; and Duty Manager, Ezenwa Ehumadu.”

According to the NCAA image maker, “We informed the airline that the passenger had called Kenya Airways via +254 711 024 747 on December 7, 2025, to inquire if she was qualified to fly the Manchester-Paris-Nairobi-Lagos (inbound) and Lagos-Nairobi-Paris-Manchester route.”

According to the passenger, the airline told her that she was qualified, despite her informing them that she is Nigerian, who holds a British resident permit, but no Shenghen visa.

It was based on this information from Kenya Airways that she proceeded to purchase the ticket. She flew the first leg into Nigeria via Paris and Nairobi with no incidence.”

He explained further that “The airline has asked for time to check their recorded call log and confirm if that call actually happened. They have been granted 48 hours to do so.

For her outbound flight, the airline boarded and flew the passenger out of Lagos despite knowing that she needed a transit visa for the Paris leg.”

Achimugu affirmed that “This fault was that of the airline, and it was only discovered in Nairobi. Upon discovery, the airline then offered Ms. Gloria a direct flight to London at no extra cost to her, on the condition that she’d wait another 10 hours in addition to the 17-hour layover she had just endured.”

He added that “Since she was bleeding and exhausted, the passenger demanded accommodation and care because the error was that of the airline. It was when she was denied care that an argument ensued between her and the airline counter staff.

This is contrary to the intentionally misleading official statement by Kenya Airways claiming that the lady simply refused to re-routing directly to London and started to throw pads around.”

“Their team has apologized for the obfuscation of facts in that statement. They have also admitted that, phone call or not, it was the fault of the airline not to have discovered the problem before airlifting the passenger from Lagos.”

He said “At the NCAA, our regulations mandate all airlines operating in Nigeria to have dedicated customer relations desks/officers who are trained to mediate issues of this nature. If there was compliance with the regulations, the staff would have handled the situation better, and it would never have escalated to the level it did.”

On the call at the Nigerian President by a rude female staff of the airline during the commotion, Achimugu said “I expressed deep disappointment about the unruly Kenya Airways staff who insulted the office of the President of Nigeria, insinuating that the airline could do anything to Nigerians and NOTHING would happen.

I asked if this manner of addressing customer complaints was the airline’s standard protocol.

The country manager stated in very clear terms that the staff was out of order and apologized for the outburst. When asked what disciplinary measures will be taken against their personnel, he said that his bosses in Nairobi would decide.”