The unruly behaviour of passengers at the airports disrupt orderliness, safety and the general ecosystem in air travel, writes Chinedu Eze
In modern aviation precision governs every departure and arrival. When there is disruption it is more than a mere inconvenience, but a direct challenge to safety and order. Airports operate as ecosystems of coordination, where timing, discipline and adherence to protocol are not optional, but essential. Yet, in Nigeria and across the globe, this delicate balance is increasingly being tested by unruly passenger behaviour.
In an interview he granted during the fifth anniversary of United Nigeria Airlines, the Chairman of the indigenous carrier, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, said that the phenomenon of unruly passengers is one of the major challenges of air travel in Nigeria. Okonkwo noted that many things that could disrupt flight operations could be managed but that of unruly passengers could make flying very unpleasant because of the anarchic and spontaneous eruption of the organised system by passengers.
“I don’t know how many of you that can recall that by January 2025 in one of my TV outings, I had said that the worst thing that was happening to our aviation then was unruly passengers. We had overcome the problem of policy instability, and so on and so forth. Unruly passengers, I do not see it decreasing. It is great thing of concern. If there is anything that is not pleasant for me in this sector, it is the only unruly passenger situation. Every other thing, I can tell you, I don’t mind, including working 24 hours. I am okay with that but incident of unruly passengers can disrupt the whole process,” Okonkwo said.
