By Niyi Sodimu

So much news have recently been circulating in the media regarding the operations of Arik Air that I thought I should make my own little contribution. It is incontestable that Arik has about the largest fleet of planes in the industry allowing them to also have a wider coverage than most of our other airline companies, some of which are now moribund, sadly.


Considering some of the accusations and counter-accusations against/by Arik such as delay flights, delay/loss of luggage inter alia, I found myself recalling one of my numerous unsavoury experiences on Arik Air.

When Arik first came to town, I used to think that this particular airline loaded at Jibowu park until I subsequently realised to the contrary. You see, I have never been a fan of Arik Air due to certain reasons which included its unreliability and disrespect for people’s time, non-observance of accurate or near accurate flight schedules and sticking to time among others. So, Arik Air was always my last option.

On Wednesday, December 4, 2013, I was to fly Arik from Lagos to Uyo. Why Arik, you ask, since I do not like their services? Well, I was constrained as Aero did not have an afternoon flight for that day, and as I had decided to stay off Dana due to obvious reason at the time, I had no other choice. It was too late to go to Jibowu.

I arrived at the local wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport 1 at about 12.30 on Wednesday, December 4, 2013, to catch a flight to Uyo for a matter coming up the following day at the Uyo Judicial Division of the Federal High Court. As usual, I had pre-booked my flight. The flight was scheduled to operate at 14:15.

Upon my arrival at the airport, I immediately proceeded to the check in counter to obtain my boarding pass and perhaps check in my luggage. It was at that point that I realised that the 14:15 flight time was even a rescheduled time from the previous 10.45 or thereabout that the service was initially scheduled to operate. I was not surprised because at other times, I have received endless SMSs from Arik, scheduling and rescheduling its flight times to the point that I was wondering if they were outside or above aviation rules and regulations. “Well, I am in Nigeria, and anything goes in Nigeria,” I thought to myself.

While waiting at the departure lounge, an announcement was made informing we, the passengers, that the flight had been further rescheduled to operate at 17.05 due to the usual esoteric excuse – ‘operational reasons.’ Now, I do not know the rules of the NCAA or the FAAN or any other law regarding delay of flights, but one thing I recall is that I had lodged a complaint against this same airline company which complaint never materialised into anything concrete. I still keep wondering what happened to my handwritten complaint to the FAAN and NCAA on the issue of the endless show of irresponsibility by this particular airline company.

Now, to the banal excuse ‘operational reasons,’ the only picture or imagination that fixated on my mind is a mechanic hurriedly fixing a broken down vehicle for the commercial driver, while the driver is pacing up and down, sweating beside the vehicle making calls intermittently to inform his/her employer the stage of the fixing. In the alternative, the driver may have been sent on another journey with the promise to the passengers that “he will soon be here.” Now, these are operational reasons as I understand them to mean as used by these airlines. Depending on how soon the issue is resolved, you keep getting the same excuse – operational reasons. It never changed. After endless excuses on the pretext of ‘operational reasons,’ I concluded within me, ‘Arik can lie for Africa.’

Back to the departure lounge, I had reached a boiling point. So, in my usual dramatic style, I jumped off my seat, visibly upset, I proceeded to the check-in counter and demanded to see the Manager. I was informed that the Manager was initially unavailable, but by the time my voice started reverberating steadily in the arena, the manager miraculously emerged from nowhere. She apologised profusely and I could see her getting embarrassed in the process. I saw in her eyes someone who has lost the will and zeal to keep on lying. I felt for her, but then what could I do! I had a destination to reach and needed to get there fast.

Thankfully, boarding was eventually announced at about 17.20. Immediately this was done, you should have seen the crowd that scurried towards the exit point of the lounge ready for onward transportation to the tarmac and onto the aircraft. I was speechless. At some point, I was almost convinced that I was the only one scheduled for the flight considering the silence that greeted my uproar and protest of the endless inconsiderate and irresponsible delays. I was deflated that it took a while before I could even stand to my feet and join the crowd. My jaw had dropped. It took a fellow passenger to advise me to close my mouth to avoid flies from entering. That was the day I learnt another lesson of life, in your personal struggles in life, even the one that will impact the generality of the people, OYO l’owa (you are on your own).

I quietly proceeded, with these sabo people (saboteurs), to the tarmac and onto the aircraft. The captain apologised profusely in a voice that seemed to me to have mastered the art by constancy, similar to the pattern of a cheating boyfriend or girlfriend who after apologising and telling you it was the devil, will seal it with those sweet-for-something words, “you know I love you and no one else can take your place,” (liar someone just attempted to) followed with a sheepish smile that leaves an impression of ‘by the time I am done with you, you will see your mother and call her father,’ (the way it appears in the eye of an imaginative observer, as me.) I wonder if that fraud will ever end in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

Anyway, we must have taken off the runway at 18.00 or thereabout. It was a rushed take off similar to a bus that had made another arrangement and endless promises to another set of customers. That moment when you tell someone “I am coming” when in actual fact you are walking away in the opposite direction. I was not surprised a bit.

At about 19.30, we were still airborne, and I thought that was quite unusual for a flight that usually took approximately 55 minutes. Presently, the Captain’s voice came on and announced that he could not see the runway due to power cut at Uyo airport. Oh dear! We had been hovering for about 25 minutes waiting for electricity to be restored all to no avail. Many thoughts went through my mind; ‘was it that there was no fuel in the generating set to power up the runway,’ or ‘was there no oil in the gen set, what about the plug, perhaps the rope of the I-better-pass-my-neighbour generator suddenly cut in the process of pulling it to start the gen-set.’ ‘Hurry up and start the gen-set,’ I caught myself musing, ‘or line the tarmac with candles or lanterns, which ever was available.’

Suddenly, with the speed of a student that encounters the school principal after scaling the school fence into the school compound during assembly period, the pilot accelerated and increased altitude. Behold! We were on our way back to Lagos, just as he had earlier warned. I was alarmed, upset and scared all at the same time! “But maka why?” I asked in ghost-mode, which mode had activated itself, with no expectation of an answer. The thoughts were promptly followed with the tune of ‘nearer my God to thee’ cruelly playing in my mind with the sadness that accompanied the violin rendition in the movie, the Titanic. I became morbid, thankfully, the ‘blood of Jesus’ took over and I immediately began to confess all my sins with alacrity. The ones that I remembered and the ones that I didn’t. I made sure I covered the field just in case. In fact, I promptly forgave all my enemies that I had earlier planned to deal with. (I later revoked the forgiveness, ..lol). There was no time to lie against the devil, so, I took responsibility for all of them.

Shortly after, the Captain announced that due to fuel shortage, we would have to proceed to Port Harcourt to refuel; the announcement sounded more like a warning that the fuel would probably not take us there. Then a flurry of thoughts followed the earlier ones in an orderly sequence “why did I take this plane sef,” “why didn’t I just go to Jibowu and take Ekene-dili-Chukwu,” “what if the fuel does not take us to PH, can I alight at Port and tell the conductor to leave the Harcourt out,” “can the conductor just open the door for me to jump-out-in-motion, Lagos molue style, or even open the window slightly for me to crawl out and hang onto a cloud, after all, I see characters hang onto clouds in cartoons.” Jeez, I was not alone in my thoughts as I heard the ‘sabo people’ now murmuring under their breathe why others froze to their seats like bread and peanut butter. I wondered why their voices were not as loud as it usually is inside molue buses; hypocrites. They cannot claim not to have entered molue before, even on their way to the airport sef; aren’t we all coming from Lagos afterall! Pretenders!

Thankfully, before long, we safely arrived at PH airport, by which time I was drained of energy and talk-time due to the endless applications that were running in the background – my mind. We refuelled and were further informed that electricity had been restored in Uyo and the runway lit up for our arrival.

“Nonsense!” I said boldly and with much confidence this time around like a victim whose father had just arrived the bullying scene. “Why did it take this long to power-up the place.” I was ready to sue Arik for delay, the NCAA and FAAN for dereliction of duty, and finally the Akwa Ibom State for using ‘I-better-pass-my-neighbour,’ for its airport operations. Everyone was agreeing with my proposals, but they forgot to ask for my name and office address. Hypocrites! 100% Nigerian.

After about 20 minutes of refuelling, we were airborne, once more, on our way to Uyo, this time around, hoping and praying that the fuel would be able to sustain the light by the time we would be landing. We eventually touched down at approximately 21.30. 3 hours 30 minutes after take-off from Lagos and 9 hours of my arrival at Lagos Airport. Immediately we touched down and the aircraft came to a complete stop, or perhaps, I thought, I jumped out of the aircraft and onto hard solid ground, knelt down on the tarmac, kissed the ground and promised that I shall not fly Arik air again; instead I would take keke or okada back to Lagos.

Source: http://www.niyisodimu.com.ng/2016/12/29/arik-air-wings-of-africa-or-the-drumsticks-of-a-local-fowl/

Lalasticlala, mynd44 please do the needful.

So sorry....this must have been not only sad but very traumatic.

i did not read that story too long for me

When will things go straight , in Nigeria!

Plane na by force?

I don't give a Bleep

BlackDBagba:
So sorry....this must have been not only sad but very traumatic.

Thanks, bro. No be small thing o.

Flexherbal:
When will things go straight , in Nigeria!

That's a one Million Naira question that no one may be able to answer. Rather than getting better, things appear to be getting worse.

darbeelicous:
Plane na by force?

Depends on what you mean? Which other means of transportation would you rather suggest? Keke Marwa or okada? lol

saxwizard:
i did not read that story too long for me

Macpro has made the job easier for you by copying from my site and pasting it here.