Dana Airlines Sued Over 11-Hour Flight Delay

A legal practitioner, Babajide Idowu, has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Lagos against Dana Airlines Limited for allegedly delaying his flight for over 11 hours without adequate notification.

Idowu, in a writ of summons dated November 28, 2019, accused the defendant of breaching the contract of carriage between it and the plaintiff “when it failed to convey the plaintiff on the time scheduled for Flight No. 9J-356 on the 5th July, 2018 and delayed the flight for about 12 hours.”

Idowu is urging the court to compel the airline to pay him $4,150, “being the amount stipulated by the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, signed at Montreal on 28th May, 1999, and domesticated by Section 48(2) of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act 2006 and Schedule III of the NCAA, for the unjustified delay of the plaintiff’s flight.”

The lawyer is also seeking N1m damages to cover for the psychological trauma he allegedly suffered on account of the 12-hour flight delay.

He wants another N2m to cover for general damages and a separate N500,000 as solicitor’s fee.

Idowu’s solicitor, Lekan Ikuomola, in the statement of claim, explained that the plaintiff was a regular passenger with Dana Airlines.

Ikuomola said his client was scheduled to fly with the airline from Abuja to Lagos, having booked a flight with Electronic Ticket ATBI0 for July 5, 2018 at 12.33pm on Flight No. 9J-356.

Idowu said he and about 70 other passengers who were affected had previously demanded compensation through the law firm of Abiola Sanni & Co. for the almost 12-hour flight delay, but no compensation came till date.