Turkish Airlines: how not to be a good corporate citizen?
Though the matter is in court, the narrative is sordid and signposts all the traits unbecoming of a multinational corporate body. And it is worse when the entity is the national carrier of a country which hoists a country’s flag and emblazon her colours across the globe. You would expect the very best of behaviour of such a company; wouldn’t you?
But in this case between the Turkish Airlines and her passengers, the story has been less than palatable. It is so much so that the Federal Government has had to step in on behalf of the hapless customers of the airline. Even then, the company remained heedless, warranting the Federal Government to approach the court to seek redress.
As the report goes, at least three Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul to Abuja during the periods of December 2015 and January 2016 were apparently marred by the mishandling of customers’ luggage which resulted in their late delivery. Considering that this was at the peak of seasonal commercial activities, these delays may have resulted in loss of business for many of the airline’s passengers.
Seeking redress, some of the passengers had reported to the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) which in turn invited the management of Turkish Airlines. But the airline allegedly ignored CPC’s several invitations to it to appear before the council. The matter was then reported to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF).
According to report, the airline remained recalcitrant, refusing to heed all invitations by the OAGF. The Federal Government therefore had no further recourse than to take the airline to court for alleged impunity and violation of the rights of some Nigerians.
Here is an extract from the official statement of the CPC: “The prosecution of the airline and its principal officers followed a warning by the Federal Government to the airline to respond within 21 days to the Consumer Protection Council’s request for full situation report on the airline’s alleged shoddy treatment of passengers of flight TK 623 of Sunday December 20, 2015 and other subsequent flights during the Yuletide or face prosecution.”
The last letter from the OAGF dated March 17, 2016 which handed the airline a 21-day ultimatum was signed on its behalf by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation. When this was not heeded, the OAGF considered the airline’s action a deliberate attempt to ridicule a constituted authority in its host country. No choice was left than to proceed to court.
As noted above, this matter is before the court, thus no attempt must be made to pre-empt the legal proceedings, but if the story is as reported, it smacks of impunity for a foreign corporate organisation to defy constituted authorities of its host country. It beggars believe.
It is strange that a foreign company would shun all forms of diplomatic niceties and exhibit such disdain for its host country. Couldn’t the airline have sent its officers to make even mere appearances at the office of the CPC?
We must therefore commend the CPC and the OAGF for standing up for the passengers and seeking to win them some respect, if not redress. There had been many cases in the past of mistreatment of airline passengers. Many have cases of misplaced and lost luggage that often went unattended to or dragged too long that the victims eventually spent even more money without getting commensurate recompense, if any.
We urge the OAGF to pursue this matter to its logical conclusion and ensure that justice is done. Above all, let this Turkish Airline case serve as a cautionary note to all service providers, especially airlines in the country, that contract terms must be strictly adhered to.
