KLM Airlines apologizes to Nigerians for flight delay, give monetary compensation
Lagos - Royal Dutch Airlines, KLM, has officially apologized to the 290 Nigerians whose flights were delayed for two days at the Murtala Muhammed Airport. In a statement issued by the airline’s General Manager, Ramon Delima, the Airline apologized for the communication breakdown between the airline management and the passengers.
Delima, who attributed the flight delay to a technical failure, recorded on a brand new Boeing 777-200 meant to be used for the flight, expressed his sincere apologies for the flight cancellation of flight KL588 from Lagos to Amsterdam on the 5th and 6th of June. His words, “During a routine check in Lagos of the brand new Boeing 777-200 aircraft, a technical failure was discovered. Because a spare part had to be flown in from Amsterdam , KLM had no other choice than to delay the flight to the next day. All 290 passengers were accommodated in hotels.”
The British Airways treatment of Nigerians on a London-Lagos flight some few months back is still fresh in the mind of Nigerians, so this si a much welcome change.
Delima, disclosed how the passengers were accommodated in hotels and explained how the airline made arrangements to fly into Lagos two aircraft to airlift the passengers from Lagos to Amsterdam. Besides this, the KLM manager also stated that the passengers were equally each given a check-in letter from the KLM general manager with a cash amount. “The least we can do for our passengers is to apologize, arrange alternative transport and support them in the immediate expenses due to the delay,”Ramon stated in a letter to the passengers. The airline, which declared that its prime concern at all times was to ensure the safety of the Nigerian passengers, staff and the general public, promised to continue to maintain the highest maintenance standards on all its fleet.
“KLM will not allow departure of an aircraft that is not 100 per cent in working order. An utmost effort will always be made to minimize any possible inconvenience arising from this unfortunate situation,”he added Meanwhile, Nigerian passport holders traveling through Amsterdam Schipol Airport on the Royal Dutch Airlines to and from UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland and Japan, holding valid entry visas for their final destinations will no longer require Airport Transit Visas. Commenting on the development which took effect from May 5th, Ramon Delima, General Manager, KLM , Central Africa declared, “This is a good example of our efforts to offer hassle-free travel to our Nigerian customers.”Recent survey among KLM travelers showed that the infamous transit-visa is among the top three irritators of KLM frequent travelers.
Leave a Reply