Three passengers of TAP Portugal Air, have reported a case of assault after some confusion over the boarding of their flight.
The three passengers claim they were physically and verbally assaulted by a security officer when they arrived at the Kotoka Airport on Saturday to travel on the scheduled flight to Sao Tome and Principe.
The passengers say they were forced to give up their seats when they arrived at the boarding gate for departure.
Ekua Semuah-Odoom, who was travelling with her sister and friend, was one of the persons involved in the incident, and she noted to Accra-based Citi FM that she had purchased her tickets on July 14, 2017.
She narrated that when she got to the Airport, and went through the departure formalities to board her flight, a TAP official said they would have to be de-boarded because of overbooking.
“I told her [the official] no, I can’t accept that because as far as I am concerned, when it comes to overbooking, you have to call out to the passengers and ask for volunteers. You can’t single out people. Even when it comes to that level, you give priority because we bought our tickets about five months ago.”
But when the flight called for boarding, Ekua, her sister and her friend, were not allowed onto the flight.
“Just as I was trying to enter, one of the security guys just shoved me against the glass door then when I turned, my sister and friend were also trying to capture what was happening. What I realized was that, one the guys held my friend in the neck and pushed her into a metal chair. They were just shoving my sister and hitting them. They actually assaulted us,” she recounted.
While all this was going on, Ekua also said the TAP officials were present, but were dismissive of their plight.
They have lodged a complaint with the police, and have also spoken to their legal counsel who “are going to take it up from there,” Ekua added.
Three passengers threaten suit over alleged assault at Kotoka
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