Ticket Racketeering Intensifies as Passengers Scramble for Limited Aircraft Seats

Chinedu Eze

The limited number of aircraft seats, which falls short of meeting passengers’ demand on domestic routes has intensified ticket racketeering by airlines ground staff, especially ticketing officials in collaboration with airport touts that claim to be protocol officers.

THISDAY investigations carried out over the last three months, revealed that ticketing officials cancel tickets already sold to passengers and sell the same ticket to other passengers at higher prices, just as protocol officers resell tickets already bought in other people’s names, an action that has security implications.

As passengers travel with wrong names, experts say this could be dangerous in case of mishap.

It was learnt that the ticketing officials also send messages to passengers falsely telling them that their flights have been rescheduled so that they arrive at the airport when the flights had left and when they arrive they would be asked to rebook for other flights and their tickets would be sold to other passengers who would pay more for them.

Although this illicit deals had been going on for years, it has intensified in the last two years because of the inability of Nigerian airlines to supply more aircraft seats, a trend that has catapulted airfares beyond the reach of average Nigerian.

THISDAY met Abuja bound passenger on early morning flight on Monday at one of the domestic terminals in Lagos, who revealed that he wanted to travel on Tuesday but all the flights were booked, but he checked and was lucky to get a seat in a flight for Monday, which he promptly booked and paid for.

According to the passenger, “When I came to checked in, the airline official told me that I have issue with my ticket but she was going to rectify it. I waited. At a time, I suspected, maybe, they have sold my ticket to another person. In fact, if they did not eventually check me in, I would have caused so much havoc. I know the game they play. I had bought another person’s ticket before and the person was lamenting beside me that his flight was cancelled, as I walked away to board my flight,” he said.

THISDAY tracked down a protocol official who arrange flights for a well-known company in Lagos to find out whether a passenger’s ticket could be cancelled and sold to another person and whether a ticketing officer of an airline could collect money for ticket without issuing one and collaborate with station manager to secure boarding pass for the passenger.

This is was response, “It is possible because they can tell you that the flight has been rescheduled and most often they do this without the knowledge of the airline management. Another thing they do is that they close the counter before time; so, when you come they tell you that you are late; that the counter has been closed. They will quickly tell you to reschedule your flight. They will then sell your ticket at higher price to another passenger.”

He also disclosed that that although this is done on all routes, it is rampant on the routes where airlines operate one flight a day.

He also disclosed that on those routes that have high demands, protocol officers buy the tickets of the flights and when the flights are full they start offloading the tickets at double or more the price the airline sold the tickets; so, passengers who are desperate to travel would buy the tickets and the protocol officers will cook up identity cards with the name on the tickets.

“They do this on all routes but mostly on the routes where airlines operate one flight a day, like Enugu, Kaduna, Asaba, Anambra, Warri, Benin and Osubi. Our people will even go and buy tickets of the airlines that fly there. When the flight is booked full they sell to any passenger who can pay higher. They will approach you, tell you that the flight is full and they will also tell you that they can sell a ticket if you want. If you pay they will do ID card for you and you fly with it. But when they don’t get passengers they open the ticket so that they can sell it at another time. So, they open it for future use. They do this mostly during Christmas season. Everybody in the airport knows that,” he said.

THISDAY spoke to head of communication of one of the oldest Nigerian airline still operating who did not want to be identified.

He confirmed those illicit activities involving ticket sales, disclosing that his airline used to be involved in but, “we have cut our coat according to our cloth.”

The airline spokesman also acknowledged that even though it used to happen before but now it has become very frequent and it usually involves airlines with many flights, which enables those engaged in it to get the passengers that could be ready to pay more for tickets.

“They do it with airlines that have many flights. In those days it was normal to see reports on that in our office but it doesn’t happen anymore. These touts will sell ticket that has another person’s name and do ID card for the person that bought the ticket and he will travel with it. Airlines are not security people. Once they see that your face matches with what is on the ID card, they allow you to go. There is no time. They are too busy.

“Some years ago, they sold the ticket of the Editor of a major newspaper then (name withheld). I don’t know how they did that. I don’t know how they knew that he would not come for the flight. They sold his ticket and when he wanted to travel they told him he had used his ticket. I gave him another ticket because I knew he was not lying. What they do is that once they know that the passenger is not coming, they can sell your ticket. I don’t know how they know. Maybe they liaise with terminal managers,” he said.

The airline official also said that it is very difficult to stop the racket because the illicit business has been going on for a long time and “AVSEC (Aviation Security) people are inefficient.”

Aviation Security expert and the CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, Group Captain John Ojikutu, told THISDAY that travelling with another person’s name on the boarding pass is very dangerous because such a person will not be covered by insurance if there is any accident.

He therefore called on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to intervene and sanction airlines whose staff are involved in such illicit act.

Ojikutu recalled a major crash in Enugu on November 28, 1983, when Nigeria Airways Flight 250 crashed on approach to Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, the Fokker F28 Fellowship 2000 crashed into a cassava field 3.3 km from the runway.

“The daughter of the former Governor of the then Anambra state, the late Chief C. C. Onoh, was in that aircraft. Her Uncle gave her his ticket, which she travelled. So, she was not covered by insurance. I remembered vividly because I travelled to Enugu to console with Chief Onoh,” Ojijuku said.