Kenyans ‘treated like terrorists’ at Lyon French airport

On Saturday, December 18, a Virgin Atlantic flight was scheduled to travel from Nairobi to Heathrow, UK. The flight left on time but was redirected to Lyon, France due to heavy snow fall in the UK.

Reknowned Kenyan writer, Prof Wa Thiong’o, was among the passengers and has termed his journey “a five-day nightmare.”

Ngugi, who is asthmatic, has told how Kenyan passengers on the plane were dumped in a room at Lyon Airport and locked up because they could not be granted entry visas to France. Prof Ngugi says all the Kenyans were treated almost as if they were terrorists.

“Our bus was escorted by armed French police into a separate building at the airport into which we were locked. The three stewardesses in charge of us were ushered into a separate room, clearly not a paradise, but it had cushioned chairs for beds,” he wrote.

“It was very cold in the transit and room and we had requested several times for the temperature of the heating system to be put up. However, for some reason, it still stayed cold throughout our stay; the room and the blankets were simply useless,” said Sita Shah, another passenger complaining about the room they were crammed in.

Sita who had contacted her husband ahead of the journey to inform her of her arrival time complained of inconsiderate personnel at the French airport, insufficient warm clothing, and inadequate information on their stay in Lyon.

Her husband, Bhavin Shah, at Heathrow claimed to have contacted Virgin Airline officials three times without much help.

“The first two times that I called, I was put on hold for about 30-45 minutes each time. The third time, their Customer Service had no information on the status of the flight.”

He accused the airline of reneging on its promise to inform the next of kin on the status of the flight. The near-slavery like treatment of the Kenyans, drew a personal apology from the Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson.

He blamed French airport authorities and said: “The treatment of our customers by the French authorities is unacceptable and I am writing to them to understand how this situation was allowed to arise.”

So, who should be blamed? Did the airport authorities give timely information to airlines? According to the Virgin website, if the flight is delayed for four hours, the management takes responsibility to feed, accommodate and facilitate communication for passengers.

But, delays caused by severe weather rely heavily on the advice of weather instructors. That could show why the airline seemed confused at the diversion of the flight.

However, Sir Richard’s response pointed to an emergent trend where companies around the world are continually learning the value of customer relations.

Rather than give a blanket denial of responsibility, Sir Richard offered to talk to the French authorities while guaranteeing a better service next time.

According to Mr Dennis Chebitwey, the chief executive of Kenya Year Book, it would not suffice to blame another organisation because passengers were complaining to its management. The airline had a promise to its customers.

“When you give people a promise, you have to fulfil, it doesn’t matter which route you take but as long as you keep them updated.”

In Branson’s view, air control authorities erred and they have a lot to improve. “I am keen that the whole airline industry learns quickly,” he said.