Turkish Airlines and African passengers

Nigerian passengers are very profitable for many airlines. However that does not always translate into due respect. There is some silly behaviour that in my original opinion was due to rogue staff. they would harrass African passenger who were in transit over their passports. Remember these passengers are not seeking entry into Turkey. These are passemgers who have already been checked for the final destination at their port of embarkation by Turkish airlines staff.

In one case I heard the officer after looking at the entry visa for UK , asked the passenger if the Visa was genuine. I say, Sherlock , wizard question to ask eh! I watched an African with a British passport in front of me. The officer took his passport and looked at closely and then turned it upside down making a great show of checking it. There appears no limit to the depth of stupidity these officers could go as they on one occasion told the African lady that her passport was not enough and could they have another photo ID. Now it is outrageous to make such a demand. There is no greater ID than one’s passport and no other document is superior so what is this person seeking to achieve by asking for another photo id since one is not obliged to carry any other document. If she did not have another photo ID was he going to send her back to her port of embarkation courtesy of Turkish airlines?

As almost all these passengers were travelling on Turkish airlines which meant they had been vetted at the port of embarkation by Turkish airline staff this behaviour was entirely meritless. I thought this was wayward behaviour by ill disciplined staff so I wrote a formal complaint to the Chief Executive and copied it to the Chairman.

To my astonishment I have received no response after 3 months. Not even an acknowledgement. Rather than this behaviour being an example of rogue staff as I thought it would appear to be approved by the top management. What a disgrace! Perhaps Africans should consider whether they wish to use Turkish airlines again. Remember there is always a choice.