The Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered Qatar Airways to pay ex-lawmaker, Honourable Chukwuemeka Ujam, the sum of N3m, as exemplary damages, for cancelling his flight to the United States (US).
Justice James Omotosho, who gave the order while delivering Judgement on Thursday, also directed the airline to refund him the 3000USD initially paid for the fight as well as N1.8m, spent on the suit.
In his writ of summons marked FHC/ABS/CS/1990/2022, the plaintiff, Ujam said the airline cancelled his flight to the US without giving him prior information as required by law, either through text, email or call.
He also said the airline refused to refund the money for the flight when he reached out to them.
In his suit filed through his lawyer, Chibuike Maxwell, the plaintiff who was billed to attend a conference in the US, claimed that the flight issues caused him irreparable damage, as he not only arrived late but missed out on his session.
“Further to the above, the Plaintiff was devastated and utterly frustrated at the Airport when he became aware that the flight had been cancelled.
“This was due to the nature and extreme importance of the programme he was scheduled to attend as a panellist, in which many African country representatives and the United States including the US Secretary of State were in attendance, it would be so bad and absurd the Plaintiff who was a panellist/guest speaker and a Nigerian country representative in such a high profile international programme to be absent,” the plaintiff said.
Maxwell said the airline, in a bid to reroute his client’s flight, offered him a Lufthansa Airline economy class ticket for his trip, which he rejected, having paid for a business class ticket.
The lawyer said to remedy the situation, his client booked a flight from Abuja to Lagos but insisted on not accepting the economy-class ticket which, according to him, would not give him the much-needed comfort.
Among his reliefs, Ujam sought “An order of the Honourable Court compelling the Defendant to pay the sum of 3,000 Dollars to the Plaintiff is the money paid on the 13th July 2022, for Lufthansa one-way Business Class flight ticket to Los Angeles, United States after the Defendant’s fight was cancelled.
“An order of the Honourable Court compelling the Defendant to pay the sum of N30,000,000.00 (Thirty Million Naira) only as general and Exemplary damages,” he added.
The airline in their defence, among other things, said the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, and urged the court to dismiss the suit.
Delivering Judgement, Justice Omotosho held that the court has jurisdiction over the case as backed by Section 251 of the 1999 constitution.
Justice Omotosho held that the airline was wrong for cancelling the plaintiff’s flight without 3-7 days notice, which would have enabled replan, without having to get to the airport, only to discover his flight was rescheduled,
He also held that in a case where a passenger is transferred from one airline to another, the airline has to provide him with a ticket equivalent to the one he already paid for.
He further dismissed the evidence of the defence witness, as hearsay, having been in Lagos, while the issue took place in Abuja.
Justice Omotosho therefore granted all the reliefs sought by the defendant and ordered a 10 per cent per annum charge imposed on the defendant until the full cost is finally paid.