Nigeria has sanctioned Kenyan Airways after unpleasant outcomes of several inquiries made to the airline by the country’s civil aviation authority following an altercation between an agent of the airline and a Nigerian female passenger, Gloria Omisore in February.
In a statement the NCAA said: “On the 7th of May, 2025, the NCAA conveyed a letter of sanction to the operator, Kenya Airways, over the cases of Gloria Omisore and two other passengers.
“The penalties are for consumer protection-related infractions including right to care, failure to provide full disclosure of terms of carriage, failure to respond to the Authority’s request, failure to process refund and compensation, and lost baggage.”
Officials of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Management of Kenya Airways had on February 3, 2025 disagreed over an alleged case of inhuman treatment of Omisore at the Nairobi airport by Kenya Airways officials.
In a viral video on social media, a representative of Kenya Airways was seen in a verbal exchange with Omisore who had arrived in Nairobi and attempting to connect to her subsequent flight to Paris but was prevented from doing so due to “issues with her visa.”
In the video, the Kenyan Airways agent was heard saying, “Call the president of Nigeria. Call the president of Nigeria,” after Ms Omisore make her understand she was calling a minister.
“You will not fly on the Kenya Airways. You will never enter our airline again; call your president, call the Nigerian president,” the airline agent added. “We are not going to give you anything. You are not going to fly on our airways again.”
Ms Omisore was heard complaining about a 17-hour delay, fuming that she needed a sanitary towel and that she should be offered accommodation and food. But she was left unattended to.
The Nigerian government had reacted to the incident immediately, warning that “there would be ramifications if Ms Gloria Ibukun Omisore is not airlifted safely to her final destination within a couple of hours.”
“There are limits that must not be crossed and, in 2025, you will treat Nigerian passengers better,” the NCAA spokesman had said.
The NCAA did not give details of the sanction in the statement signed by Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, but warned that failure to comply with the letter would attract stiffer penalties for the airline.
“In addition to the fine in line with the NCAA Regulations 2023, the airline has seven days to pay the refunds and compensation of 1000 special drawing rights to the affected passengers,” Achimugu stated.
