A passenger on Virgin Atlantic Airways, Alhaji Ahmed Rabiu, has told a Federal High Court in Lagos that contrary to the airline’s claims, he was neither compensated for his lost luggage nor was it replaced.
Rabiu, in his response to Virgin Atlantic Airways’ statement of defence, stated that the defendant has not denied that he lost his luggage while using their airline.
The airline blamed its inability to trace the luggage on Rabu’s failure to provide adequate information on the Property Irregularity Form given to him after he reported the loss.
The plaintiff, a security expert, sued Virgin Atlantic Airways over breach of contract and the loss of his luggage on board its London to Lagos flight on September 24, 2024.
Rabiu is demanding $4000 for the value of the items contained in the stolen luggage and N20 million as damages for the distress, inconvenience and solicitors’ fees incurred in the course of recovering the luggage.
In a supporting affidavit, the passenger averred that he boarded flight No. CNY3JV from London Heathrow, United Kingdom, to Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.
He said he was checked in, along with his tagged prime luggage, by the airline’s staff.
After the plane landed in Lagos, he waited at the conveyor belt, but his luggage never appeared on the carousel as other passengers picked up theirs and left.
The plaintiff said he was given a Loss of Baggage Form to fill out and submit, but the airline neither gave him his luggage, replaced it or paid for the value of the contents.
Rabiu claimed the airline’s failure to deliver his luggage after straining his finances to purchase its flight ticket was a massive breach of contract.
He accused the airline of a deliberate attempt to escape liability for negligence and recklessness.
But, the defendant said the plaintiff was not entitled to N20 million as damages.
The airline said in the unlikely event that it is found liable, its liability, if any, should be as provided in the Montreal Convention 1999, which has been entrenched in the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act of 2023.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
