BY ADAKU WALTER
Management of Dana Air has apologised to its customers over recent flight delays and cancellations, due to unavailability of aviation fuel known as Jet A1, as well as ramp congestion and bad weather.
The airline said since commencement of its flight services, it has been committed to offering reliable air transport and setting new standards in customer experience, as well as redefining air travel in Nigeria.
In a statement issued by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Sukhjinder Mann, it admitted to having been falling short on its commitment and promise to offer reliable schedule and on time performance it had been known for.
He said affected passengers on March 1, 2022 should get in touch with the airline’s call centre to remedy the situation.
“Our customers are the reason we fly and since we let them down, we would like to offer each affected passenger a complimentary ticket (matching the class of travel in which they flew with us) and a free Dana Miles card with 5,000 points already loaded on it to help them earn the next free ticket on Dana Air.
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“It is our way of saying sorry for the inconvenience caused to their travel plans and to emphasise that our customers really matter to us.
“Knowing that they have been inconvenienced and disappointed with our services has been heartbreaking for me and the entire Dana Air family.
“I accept that our recent disruptions due ramp congestion, bad weather and most recently, scarcity of fuel would have affected your plans.
“We also understand how frustrating it would have been for you to contact our customer service representative to reschedule your flight or having to wait in some instances, but I would like to reassure you that all your feedbacks have not gone unnoticed regardless of how you sent them,” he appealed.
Explaining further, the airline said the safety and comfort of its passengers was not negotiable and takes precedence over any other consideration, adding that many changes and enhancements were being worked out to correct all the operational challenges.
“On fuel scarcity, we are working with our partners to significantly mitigate the challenge and I am pleased to advise that we have made major inroads in this area with our key suppliers. We will continue to do our best to minimise any foreseeable challenges, while hoping that the situation improves generally for all carriers as soon as possible.
“On ramp congestion and terminal infrastructure, we have commenced talks with the airport authorities on practical solutions to the issues. A slight delay due bad weather at destination or congestion due to inadequate aircraft parking space might cause extensive delays on all the flights an aircraft is scheduled to operate on that day.
“These are ongoing issues for us and all local Nigerian airlines, but better days are ahead, as we remain committed to finding lasting solutions to the issues with the cooperation of the airport authority and terminal operators,” he added.
Commenting on online reports about a Dana Air aircraft carrying about 168 passengers to an unknown destination and had to return, the airline said the report is false and advised the general public to disregard the news, describing it as fake, totally baseless and malicious.
The Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, said Dana Air operates a mixed fleet of Boeing 737, a brand new bombardier Learjet 145 and Boeing MD83 aircraft with a total capacity of 143, 8 and 147 respectively.
He said while the airline accepts the fact that it had slight delays on March 1 and March 2, 2022 due to ramp congestion and fuel scarcity, there was no such incident.
Ezenwa added that Dana Air would continue to operate in line with global safety standards and the customers and crew will continue to be at the heart of all it does.
