"Despite flight delays and cancellation due to poor weather conditions at Anambra Airport, United Nigeria Airline efficiently rerouted passengers through Asaba, provided transportation free of charge, and ensured a smooth transition to their destination, earning praise for professionalism and customer service from Nigerian man and other passengers."

A long read as written by Aguiyi Anaedo

UNITED NIGERIA: A TRUE YARDSTICK OF PROFESSIONALISM

Air travels in Nigeria has become undoubtedly the safest means of locomotion though some hassles still exist which may be as a result of human error or natural causes however, it is how the airline reacts and what it does in the face of such incidents, that showcase their level of professionalism or lack of

Frequent flyers like myself, know that flight delays and cancellation are not pleasant experiences which unfortunately, cannot be avoided even though plans are underway to mandate airlines through the passage of a bill, to pay in part or fully refund customers in the event of delays or cancellations but till then, we have to groan under the agony of such unwanted experience

I am a big supporter of excellence, progress and "getting things right" which is why I have been a huge client to United Nigeria owned by Prof Obiora Okonkwo, who I got the honour of meeting (fleetingly) last year, at the MAN AGM at Nike Resorts, Enugu. Before the emergence of United Nigeria into the Nigerian airways, I was a huge supporter of another airline owned by one of Nnamochie however, I soon found out that United Nigeria had less issues of cancellations and delays

Today, the true professionalism of United Nigeria came to the fore as the Chinua Achebe International Airport, owing to poor visibility brought about by a hand of God, no airplane could land or take off from the airport today. *I LANDED IN ANAMBRA STATE ON TUESDAY ABOARD UNITED NIGERIA FROM ABUJA WHICH WAS PROMPT AND THE FLIGHT WAS SMOOTH, TO ATTEND SOME HIGH POWERED MEETINGS WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS IN ANAMBRA STATE AHEAD OF THE GREATEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF ANAMBRA STATE ANAMBRA MARATHON* however, on getting to the airport today for the 9.45am flight back to Abuja, it was obvious that nature was up to no good as even on ground, visibility was nothing to write home about

At about 9.40am, the public address system came alive and it was announced that my flight had been delayed by an hour owing to poor weather conditions. At the same time, the same announcement was made for other airlines present in Anambra airport that their flights were also delayed by an hour. At 10.45am, the public address system was activated yet again but this time, it held even worse news. While I was told that my flight had been delayed by an extra hour, the passengers of other airlines were told that theirs had been cancelled and they could either reschedule for another day or to a nearest airport though the airport will serve them late in the night today but the logistics of getting there is not on the airlines. This naturally didn't elicit a good reception from the customers affected, some of which I know and they voiced their displeasure at the announcement which is to be expected even as they moved to see if they can use Asaba airport and get back to Abuja today. At this point, I approached the manager of United Nigeria and enquired of the possibility of flying today or at least moving by ticket to Asaba so I can go with my friends and brother at once but he assured me that all is well and that I should relax and rest assured that I will get to Abuja today and it won't be at night

At around Noon ie 2 hours past the original flight schedule, United Nigeria staff broke the dreadful news to us: No Flight To Abuja From Anambra Owing To Bad Weather!

Nwanne, kiri kiri ara bido igba m but my reaction was in haste as the announcement was still in progress but I was getting pissed because I could have found an alternate route if they had announced this earlier however, the announcement continued and United Nigeria apologised for the setback, said they will reroute us through Asaba and they will bear the logistics of the transportation from Anambra to Asaba. Nwanne, at this point, amu ju m nti. This was the first and only time I experienced such from an airline in Nigeria especially since other airlines at that airport also cancelled and never bothered about their clients

United Nigeria booked about 10 airport taxis and their own staff buses to transport about 50 of us from Anambra to Asaba FREE OF CHARGE!... Not only that, there was an aircraft already waiting for us and we did not wait up to 10 minutes before boarding and flying to Abuja meanwhile, my friends called me to find out the situation of things in Anambra but when I told them I was aboard a flight to Abuja from Asaba and all expense in between paid, they couldn't believe my luck as they cursed under their breathe because their own flight is at night around 9/10pm (not sure)

Not a single bag was misplaced, not a single customer was left behind and not a single noise or ruckus was recorded owing to the expert professionalism of United Nigeria especially towards repaying the loyalty of its customers by assisting them through the difficult time even when they could have simply borrowed a leaf from other airlines and left us to put own travails.


Kudos Prof Obiora Okonkwo... Long live United Nigeria


Prince Ugochukwu Ifeanyi (Aguiyi Anaedo)
President,
Thanos Charity Foundation owners of Anambra Marathon
aguiyianaedo@anambramarathon.ng
Abuja, FCT

This is good. May it be real and long-lasting. It is a sign of possible redemption of the rotten nation.

But nothing new or unique happened here. Those who fly a lot know. An aviation company, just by delaying your flight because of a natural factor that is beyond human control, can even lodge you in an expensive hotel you yourself may not easily afford.