Aliyu Atiku Mustapha, a Lagos-based data scientist, has accused Azman Air of holding on to his N60,000 ticket fee for 13 weeks.
Mustapha said he had paid for a flight in March only to hear of its cancellation two days before takeoff.
“I bought an air ticket numbered ETKT419 2302975977/01 on March 16 for ₦60,000. The ticket had booking reference AFJN4J and the name ‘Aliyu Atiku Mustapha,’” he told FIJ.
He explained that he was meant to fly from Lagos to Kaduna on April 12 but his flight was cancelled two days prior for operational reasons.
Concerned, Mustapha made immediate attempts to contact the airline. After several failed trials, he reached the airline’s customer care on April 12, the day he was originally scheduled to take off.
“I called their customer care several times on April 11 but did not get any response. I tried again the following day, and they picked up. A representative apologised and promised to book me for a flight available on April 15,” said Mustapha.
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Out of trust for the airline, Mustapha made fresh preparations for his journey. However, his optimism was short-lived. On April 14, a day before the scheduled takeoff, the airline canceled his flight for operational reasons again.
After the second incident, Mustapha was disappointed and decided to pursue a refund.
“By the second time, it had occurred to me that I could no longer rely on Azman Air. I had an important event to attend, so I booked with another airline and pursued a refund of my money,” he said.
“When I contacted them again, they instructed that I fill a refund form on their website and added that it would take three weeks to process. I filled the form on April 15.”
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After the three weeks expired, Mustapha contacted the airline again and learned that his initial request was not received. The airline told him to resend his refund request because their inbox was full.
Mustapha told FIJ that Azman acknowledged his second email and emphasised that he had to wait three weeks for processing.
However, another three weeks passed and Mustapha still did not get a refund. He told FIJ that the airline appeared unwilling to refund him.
“This is the 13th week after my second refund request, and I am yet to get my money. Every time I call their customer service, they tell me to exercise patience, that my money will get to me,” said Mustapha.
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A DISTURBING TREND
Tracing the airline’s digital footprint, FIJ gathered that Azman’s operations had been rife with inconsistencies since it started in 2014.
For instance, FIJ has reported several reported refund delays and defaults by the airline.
In 2021, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority shut the airline for safety infractions after a landing accident and the release of defective aircraft for commercial flights, according to the agency. Also in 2021, the NCAA suspended the airline, revealing that it owed N1.54 billion.
On September 14, 2022, the NCAA suspended Azman because of a debt of about N1.2 million. The airline had failed to remit ticket and cargo sales charges to the agency.
The airline suspended its own operations recently due to “shortage of aircraft”. The airline’s employees were forced to go on compulsory leave without pay as a result.
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FIJ contacted the airline via phone calls on August 9 but got no response. FIJ also sent an email but had not got a response at press time.
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