Air Peace responds to allegations of passenger abandonment at Gatwick Airport

Air Peace has denounced a social media video alleging that it abandoned passengers at Gatwick Airport, closing its counter prematurely due to overbooking on its London-Lagos flight on April 8, 2024.

This video, according to the airline, is aimed at tarnishing its reputation deliberately. In it, false claims about closing counters early due to overbooked flight were made.

It equally claimed the scheduled departure was 12:00 noon.

In the airline’s rebuttal however, it said,  ”The escorted passenger arrived late after check-in had ended, and our counter closed. Gatwick Airport operates with slot timings for airline operations, and we vacated our counter in accordance with these slots at 09:55 am.

“To prevent missed flights, we send multiple reminders to passengers before departure (24hrs, 14 hrs, and 6 hrs prior). Flight departure was scheduled for 11:10 am, and all processes adhered to this time.

“The claim of flight overbooking is untrue. Both the UK and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authorities can verify our manifest. Some seats were unoccupied on departure, proving no overbooking occurred.

“CCTV from Gatwick Airport shows when the passenger arrived at our counter and when the video was made. The late passenger paid the no-show fee and was rebooked on a subsequent flight, resolving the issue at the airport.

“Air Peace strives to serve passengers effectively but requires adherence to specific times for seamless travel.”