By William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday, 15 August 2006
Some passengers of the North American Airlines (NAA) who are reportedly stranded, yesterday stormed the Accra offices of the airline to protest against what they described as "unfair treatment" by officials of the airline.
The passengers, numbering about 26, claimed that the NAA flight 124 scheduled for Baltimore in the United States, left them at the Kotoka International Airport even though they had checked-in on time.
When the Times got to the Dzorwulu office of the Airline, some of the passengers were having their breakfast in an office of one of the managers while others were demanding a refund of their air fares.
The international rules state that "a passenger travelling on an airline should report to the airport two hours prior to departure."
Speaking to the Times, Mrs. Rosie Acheampong one of the stranded passengers, said they got to KIA to check in at 9.30am on Sunday only to be told that the check-in centre had closed.
"They refused to give us hotel accommodation and asked us to come to their office at Dzorwulu the following day," she said.
At the office, she said they were told by the airline officials that the next available flight to New York was on August 15, and that they would have to pay an additional 375 U.S.A. dollars before being considered to join the next flight to New York.
"They left us to our fate at the airport and do not seem to care about our situation," she added.
Some of the passengers said they intend to petition the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority to intervene in the matter while others said they were contemplating legal action and yet others were demanding a refund.
When contacted, Mr. Mark Ofori Amanfo, Finance Manager of the NAA, denied the allegations of the passengers, saying that "they reported very late when the check in centre had closed."
He said the check-in period was between 5.30 am and 8.30 am and added that they went ahead to extend the time to 9.30am which was two hours before departure.
"It was after 9.30am that a number of them started arriving and insisted to get on board, so we asked them to come to our office on Monday."
Mr. Amanfo said the NAA had given them options such as routing them through New York on August 15, or go on the next flight to Baltimore on the coming Sunday which some had agreed to.
On the question of who was supposed to provide accommodation for the passengers until next Sunday, the finance manager said "airline policy says that if you come in late to board a flight you face the consequences."
He said, for instance, that the first among the 26 passengers to arrive at KIA got there at 9.40am, adding that "there could have been a mix-up in communication from the agents or consolidators who made the flight arrangements."
He denied that the flight was overbooked, saying "NAA 124 has over 260 seats and as at the departure time only 149 passengers were on board."
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