Ibom Air bans passenger after violent assault on crew, staff (Video)
Story by Susan Mbamah
Ibom Air has banned a female passenger, Comfort Emmanson, after she assaulted the airline’s crew and airport staff during and after a flight from Uyo to Lagos on Sunday.
The incident, which was captured in multiple viral videos, began when Emmanson refused to turn off her mobile phone.
The airline confirmed the event in a statement, explaining that just before takeoff, Emmanson was asked to switch off her phone but refused to comply. It wasn’t until the pilot-in-command made a public announcement that a fellow passenger took the phone and switched it off for her. This prompted a “verbal tirade” from Emmanson, but the flight departed as scheduled.
Upon landing in Lagos, the situation escalated. The airline stated that Emmanson waited for other passengers to leave before confronting the purser who had initially instructed her to turn off her phone.
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She then allegedly “stepped on her, forcibly tore off her wig, removed her glasses and threw them to the floor, and used her footwear to assault her.” In a video, a flight attendant can be heard saying, “She (the passenger) slapped me.”
Ibom Air’s statement details how Emmanson also slapped another crew member who tried to intervene and attempted to use a fire extinguisher as a weapon.
Airport security, alerted by the pilot, eventually arrived and “restrained and removed [her] from the aircraft by force.” She continued to assault both Ibom Air and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) security staff on the ramp.
The passenger was eventually taken into custody by the Nigeria Police Force. Ibom Air has since submitted a report to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and has placed a travel ban on Emmanson, who will no longer be permitted to fly with the airline.
In a reaction on X (formerly Twitter), the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mr. Michael Achimugu, commented on the incident, saying, “When cabin crew ask you to turn off your phone before takeoff or landing, simply comply.
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I cannot understand why simple routine issues would lead to incidents like this.” He added that “passengers need to understand they have responsibilities, not just rights.”
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