AM EDITORIAL: Preparing Nigeria’s Airports For Unrully Behaviour Management At Yuletide
In recent months, the menace of deviant behaviour among some airport users in Nigeria in form of unruly passenger or airline personnel behavior, sparked some airline-passenger conflicts that threatened airside safety, air safety and security as well as airline corporate image in some instances.
As we approach the yuletide in anticipation of the usual massive patronage of Nigeria’s domestic and international airports, it is necessary to build capacity for minimization and effective management of such conflicts where they occur.
The culture of impunity and other forms of deviant behaviour at some Nigeria’s airports which have been encouraged in recent times with non-punishment of persons who exhibit such conducts as grievous as fisticuffs inside airplane, beating up airline staff, ill-treatment of air travellers by airline staff with poor customer service, amongst others, have become undesirable menace left for the industry to manage.
Industry operators and field personnel equally require proper awareness on the complexities and unique attitude of some Nigerian air travelers, who are not insane, and at the same time, cannot be said to be completely sane, considering certain unruly and disruptive attitude exhibited at the airport.
Airport personnel retraining and awareness will help effective passenger behaviour management and minimize avoidable conflicts at the country’s airports.
For this season and beyond, we recommend a bi-weekly PASSENGER BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT DRILL for all airlines, aviation agencies and other service providers in the industry.
If this is complemented with monitored customer service drills to back up refresher trainings and collaborative aviation security measures, we believe airport users will enjoy hitch-free movements all through the yuletide period.
We wish every aviation industry stakeholder in Nigeria a very wonderful yuletide celebration.AM
