Luggage charge leaves passengers stranded at Lagos airport

A new policy introduced by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria for passengers coming into the country to pay a special charge on their luggage has become a source of dilemma for travellers. 

A lot of passengers, who came into the country were stranded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,Lagos as they could not retrieve their luggage on time. Some of the passengers, who spoke to our correspondent, alleged that their baggage had been deliberately delayed, adding that they were also maltreated by the security personnel at the arrival hall of the airport, claiming that they were acting on FAAN’s instruction. 

For instance, a passenger who gave his name simply as Simon, and came into the country aboard an Emirate airline flight from Dubai, said he spent about five hours at the arrival hall before he could collect his luggage. However, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Yakubu Dati, denied claims that the agency was charging passengers N2,000 on each luggage.

Dati said in a statement, “The charge does not apply to all passengers but to cargo agents who use passenger planes to transport their cargoes, often times 20 to 30 pieces of luggage unaccompanied or accompanied by proxies.