Saturday August 3, 2024
The Somali passenger was stranded for 24 hours after Ethiopian Airlines removes her for a unnamed minister
NAIROBI, Kenya (HOL) — A Somali passenger has accused Ethiopian Airlines of mishandling her flight due to overbooking, leaving her stranded for 24 hours at Addis Ababa airport. The incident has sparked outrage within the Somali community and led to calls for a boycott of the airline.
Aisha, the passenger, booked her tickets in March and had assigned seats. She was informed at the boarding gate that her tickets were on standby. "I already had my seats reserved on all my flights," she told CNN's Larry Madowo. We only found out at the gate that our tickets were on standby despite checking in our luggage without issue."
On July 19, Aisha and her husband were removed from an overbooked flight to Nairobi. According to the passenger, a minister had boarded the plane last minute, which she claimed caused their removal. Ethiopian Airlines denied VIP influence on seating arrangements, stating that the passengers attempted to board despite being told the flight was full.
After being removed from the plane, security forces demanded the couple delete all video recordings and confiscated their passports, effectively leaving them stranded. "They took our phones and deleted all videos," Aisha said. "We were stranded for 24 hours without accommodation, no apologies, and no clear communication."
The airline asserted that the video does not reflect the actual sequence of events and that the affected passengers were accommodated on the next available flight. However, the couple disputed this, saying they were left without help. "We were told to come back at 6 a.m. to see if we could fly," she said. "I felt terrified and powerless."
The viral video, captured by CNN correspondent Larry Madowo, drew significant attention online. It showed the woman arguing with flight attendants, insisting that the minister should be removed instead. The video has been viewed 8.2 million times.
On Friday, Madowo tweeted, "RECEIPTS: Ethiopian Airlines called me a liar, so I tracked down the passenger in my viral video who was offloaded for a minister. ET (Ethiopian Airlines) called police on Aisha and her husband, forced them to delete their videos, and left them stranded in Addis for 24 hours. They've received no apology."
Adam Aw Hirsi, a Somali scholar and former minister, condemned the airline and called for legal action, criticizing both the airline and the business class passengers who did not support the woman.
In response to the backlash, Ethiopian Airlines issued a statement via X (formerly Twitter), explaining that the removal was due to overbooking. They claimed the three individuals were on standby economy class and arrived just before departure. One passenger complied with the request to disembark while security escorted the remaining two.
This incident is not the only recent controversy for Ethiopian Airlines. The airline is also dealing with a recent decision from the Eritrean Civil Aviation Authority to suspend all Ethiopian Airlines flights to Asmara, effective September 30, 2024. This suspension was due to "systematic mistreatment" of Eritrean passengers, including theft of luggage, damage, extreme delays, and uncompensated loss of property. Despite repeated attempts to address these issues, no satisfactory resolution was reached with the airline.