Dana Air has taken responsibility for the grounded aircraft incident over the weekend and has opened inquiry into the altercations with a passenger with disability.
In a statement posted on Tuesday, Dana Air disclosed that it regrets the discomfort and frustrations it caused to passengers on Friday, which has affected its daily operations.
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- “We grounded the aircraft on Friday for safety concerns, and in an uncommon fashion, we had to do same with a different equipment on Saturday. Neither grounding was because of potential threats to safe operation, rather in compliance with our own self set high safety standards. Such disruptions have significantly affected operations, especially when traffic is high these days.
- “We strongly disclaim the notion that our company or our employees discriminate against persons on account of disability or any factor for that matter. This is inconsistent with our history and record, which is available for all to see,” it stated
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Dana acknowledged the viral social media video showing altercations between its employees and a person with disability.
- “Although we make no determinations yet, one way or the other, suffice to state that receiving this footage, other pieces of evidence and extensive discussions with regulators had led us to immediately open an internal inquiry. We take responsibilities seriously, and never encourage or condone any impropriety by our employees. We will also cooperate with relevant consumer protections authorities.”
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What you should know
A passenger, Dr. Chike Okogwu, on Sunday disclosed that Dana introduced a new policy that forbids accepting passengers with wheelchairs. He tweeted,
- “Discrimination against persons with Disabilities in Nig. I booked a 7:20PM flight from Abj-Lag which was rescheduled to 9.05PM. I got my boarding pass only for Dana Air to say a new policy forbids carry us with wheelchair.”
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It's turning bloody here in Abuja Airport. If we die, we die. I say no to discrimination of persons with Disabilities in Nig. pic.twitter.com/XbLdvGNiIk
— Dr. Chike OKOGWU. (@chikeiq) December 20, 2020
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The Passenger was later granted bail today after he was arrested.
For those still asking, @chikeiq has posted bail. He is the passenger with mobility disability whom @DanaAir got arrested 2 days ago after they had endlessly delayed his flight & then told him he cld not be on a night flight. Disability discrimination in #Nigeria needs to end! pic.twitter.com/4d5OIE9epi
— Chidi Odinkalu, CGoF (@ChidiOdinkalu) December 22, 2020