Celebrated Kenyan-born CNN International Correpsodent Larry Madowo has exposed Ethiopia Airlines for what he termed as unprofessional conduct .
Larry who recorded the event as it unfolded aboard the Ethiopia Airlines and shared the video across his social media platforms, said the airline didn’t apologize after forcefully kicking a woman who had earlier booked a plane ticket but her seat was given out to an Ethiopian Minster at the last hour, before take off.
“Ethiopian Airlines kicked out a passenger on my flight because a minister took her seat. They didn’t apologize and they eventually forcefully offloaded her screaming. It was 11.30pm and the next flight to Nairobi was the following day. The Ethiopian minister saw her fighting and did nothing. He just sat there. Disgraceful”
In the video seen by Channel 15 News, a woman is seen screaming out loud infront of a cabin crew assistant, the woman refuses to get off the plane because they offered her seat to Ethiopian Minster. ” I don’t care, that’s not my problem…..Let’s talk…Do not touch me ! Do not touch me . I can’t do this , because your favorite people! Everyone is a tax payer” She says.
1 Comment
Ethiopian Airlines (ET) has responded to a viral video posted on social media about one passenger off-loaded from an ET flight.
Below is ET’s entire statement, unedited, sourced from Ethiopian Airlines. hashtag#Ethiopia
Official Statement Regarding Recent Video Circulation.
“Ethiopian Airlines has watched the circulation of a viral video on various social media platforms depicting a passenger being removed from flight ET308 on July 19th, from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.
We took the necessary time to investigate the matter thoroughly and bring the factual information to the public.
On the date mentioned above, the flight experienced an overbooking situation. Three individuals with standby economy class boarding pass arrived at the boarding gate just a few minutes before the scheduled departure time of the flight. The Boarding Agent advised them that the flight was full and they would be protected on the next flight.
However, they ignored the advice of the Boarding Agent and attempted to board the aircraft bypassing security personnel at the boarding gate. Our staff members courteously asked these passengers to disembark. One passenger acquiesced to this request, while the remaining two were escorted off the aircraft by security due to non-compliance.
It is pertinent to mention that these passengers were booked in economy class, and their seating was in no way influenced by the presence of a non-Ethiopian national VIP passenger in business class. Ethiopian Airlines follows a standard protocol wherein VIPs, Business Class Passengers, and Platinum ShebaMiles members are allowed to board subsequent to the seating of all other passengers.
A misapprehension arose among the standby passengers, leading to the distorted belief that their seats had been allocated to a VIP. This is not the case, and the circulating video does not reflect the true sequence of events.
We extend our gratitude to our patrons for allowing us the chance to clarify these circumstances before forming any judgments. Ethiopian Airlines is dedicated to the safety and well-being of all our passengers and to the adherence of our established operational guidelines.
The passengers affected by the overbooking were protected on the next available flight. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.
Ethiopian Airlines. A proud member of Star Alliance”.