Emmanuel Uzodimma*, a Lagos State resident whose Abuja–Lagos round-trip flight tickets worth N259,200 were cancelled by Dana Air in April, is still unable to make use of the tickets.
This is despite a September 6 statement from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) claiming passengers could use cancelled Dana Air tickets and fly to the destinations of their choice with NG Eagle, the airline’s new partner.
In an interview with FIJ on Tuesday, Uzodimma said he sent emails to the NCAA twice on how his and his wife’s cancelled Dana Air tickets could be converted to NG Eagle tickets but did not get any response to date.
“Following the NCAA’s statement, I sent my first email to the NCAA on November 2, 2024, requesting to know how my Dana Air ticket and that of my wife can be converted to NG Eagle tickets so we can use them to fly to our destinations but I did not get any response from the federal body,” said Uzodimma.
“On December 9, I sent a second email to the NCAA to remind them of the first one I sent in November, but till we speak, I still have not received a response from them.
“Not even a holding or acknowledgement email was sent to me as a form of response. As we speak, the N259,200 that our daughter used in booking the tickets is still hanging in the air since April last year.
“I don’t even know what to do any more. This is so saddening and exhausting. At first, Dana Air instructed us to request a refund after the cancellation and we did.
“When our refund request was not treated for several months, we thought of the ticket conversion from Dana Air to NG Eagle option. Look at where that has now led us.
“The NCAA that gave the assurance has not even responded to my emails for more than two months. I don’t even know what to do again.”
In early September, the NCAA announced that NG Eagle would be responsible for honouring flight tickets and processing refunds for passengers affected by the suspension of Dana Air’s operations.
“The Authority is also aware that Dana Air customers who paid for flights that were not operated due to its suspension have sought refunds of their airfares and have been patiently waiting,” the NCAA stated.
“In line with NCAA’s regulatory obligations, the DGCA, Capt Chris Najomo, and his management team has(sic) met with Dana Air and its new partners, NG Eagle, to resolve these complaints. The resolution is that NG Eagle will be taking up this obligation.”
NG EAGLE’S PAST RESPONSE TO A REQUEST SIMILAR TO UZODIMMA’S
While responding to an email on a matter similar to Uzodimma’s in December, an NG Eagle official, who chose to simply identify herself as Princess, wrote the following:
“We acknowledge receipt of your enquiry regarding the partnership between NG Eagle Limited and Dana Airlines Limited. In response, we would like to clarify the scope of our collaboration.
“Contrary to public assumptions, NG Eagle Limited does not handle refunds or reprotection for Dana Airlines. For any related requests, please contact Dana Airlines Limited directly.
“In accordance with established procedures, NG Eagle Limited will only provide assistance to passengers whose details have been formally communicated to us by Dana Airlines Limited, with the knowledge and approval of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), as part of specific reprotection arrangements.
“Passengers not covered under these arrangements are advised to resolve their issues directly with Dana Airlines Limited.”
THE FRAUD CASE INVOLVING DANA AIR’S MANAGING DIRECTOR
In November 2024, an Abuja High Court, ordered the arrest of Hathiramani Ranesh, the managing director of Dana Air, for refusing to present himself for an ongoing N1.3 billion fraud trial.
Ranesh and two others, who are still at large, face a six-count charge by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for alleged fraud and felony.
Count One of the charges stated that Ranesh and the other defendants allegedly committed a felony between September and December 2018 at the Dana Steel Rolling factory located in Katsina.
The second count stated that Ranesh and the accused allegedly conspired to remove, convert and sell four units of industrial generators valued at N450 million.
Count Three alleged that Ranesh and his cohorts allegedly conspired to divert N864 million meant for the revitalisation of production at the Dana Steel Rolling factory in Katsina.
Another count of the charges claimed that the defendants diverted N60.3 million that were marked as part of Ecobank bond proceeds for the resumption of production at the Katsina factory to an Atlantic Shrimpers account.
It remains unclear whether Ranesh’s fraud allegation case is directly responsible for Dana Air’s operational woes.
What is clear, however, is that there is no proper arrangement in place for Dana Air’s aggrieved passengers to either get their refunds or use their cancelled tickets to fly with NG Eagle.
