Ethiopian Airlines has denied the statement credited to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA claiming that it collects illegal charges on the South Africa route.
The alleged illegal charges termed as ‘REFUNDABLE DEPORTATION FEE is between $75 and a $150 in the event of a Nigerian passenger who flew with airline is deported.
Reacting to the allegations, the airline in a statement noted, “at the outset, we would like to clarify that Ethiopian Airlines doesn’t charge any unauthorized fees on this route.
The airline explained that, “since many passengers have been denied entry in to South Africa by the immigration authorities for various reasons, and these passengers have been inconvenienced during their stay at Johannesburg airport before they were returned back to their airport of departure, they were asked to deposit the mentioned amount to cover their incidental expenses in case they are denied entry. This amount has always been refunded to the passengers when they have been allowed entry in to South Africa”.
Explaining further, the airline claimed that, recently, the NCAA notified them on some customer complaints on this matter and are in discussion with the Authority on how to handle the matter through diplomatic channels between Nigerian and South African Governments in the spirit of African brotherhood.
“Ethiopian Airlines has served the people of Nigeria for the past 57 years and have proved to be a partner in progress. Recently when all Foreign Airlines refused to fly to Kaduna ET was the only one that flew to Kaduna. ET was the only Airline that agreed to fly to Enugu Airport. Ethiopian Airlines stands with the people of Nigeria for now and in the foreseeable future”.
