Dana Air has denied discriminating against a passenger, Dr. Chike Okogwu, whom they prevented from boarding a scheduled flight because of his disability on December 20.

Dana Air, in a statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, said it was a matter of policy, comfort and safety of their passengers.

“To put the issue in proper perspective, the said passenger (a PWD Person With Disability) who we regard as special passengers at Dana Air, got to our counter yesterday, 20th December 2020 at about 8pm for his flight and when our Deputy Manager noticed him in the midst of the upsurge of passengers, approached him and politely explained to him that as a matter of policy, comfort and safety of our guests, we do not carry Special Passengers at night while offering to check him in first, on the 7am flight the next day” they said

They explained further that Okogwu became violent and injured the Deputy Manager. That he also destroyed systems, chairs, Covid-19 protective glass shields, and weighing machines.

Dana Air said despite the denial of tickets to Okogwu by many Air Lines as a result of his reputation of assaulting staff assigned to assist him whenever he is flying, he has continued to enjoy the luxury of flight with Dana Air.

They restated that they have never and will never, as a brand, “discriminate against ANY passenger no matter circumstance.”

They added however that, “Dana Air will not tolerate any acts of violence against any of its staff, passengers or property and as a law abiding corporate citizen of Nigeria, we urge Dr. Chike Okogwu to be civil in his engagement as everything we do at Dana Air will always be in the interest of safety.”

TNL recalls that Dr. Chike had on Sunday accused Dana Air of discriminating against him by preventing him from boarding a scheduled flight because of his disability.

“is indeed the height of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Nigeria. I booked a 7:20 PM flight from Abuja-Lagos which was rescheduled to 9:05 PM. I got my boarding pass only for Dana Air to say a new policy forbids carrying us with a wheelchair”. He tweeted

He added, “It’s turning bloody here in Abuja Airport. If we die, we die. I say no to discrimination of persons with disabilities in Nigeria”

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