My wife recently flew from Lagos to Douala with our 6 month old baby, to visit friends. Before booking her ticket I checked to see if they make any charge for an infant or not. I was told that they don't and booked and paid N48,376 (US$ 410) for her flight. She booked in and after the usual hassle with customs went to wait. When her flight was called and she went to the gate she was told to wait to one side by the gate staff. Once all the other passengers had boarded she was told that she would not be allowed to enter the aircraft unless she paid an additional N17,000 (US$144) for our son!!
. I had given her some extra money ready for transport and hotels when she returned to Nigeria and she had to pay all of that before she was allowed to board
. She demanded to see what their charges are and asked why she'd been passed through check-in with our son if she now had to pay money to these criminals. They just became very aggressive and said that if she didn't pay up straight away they'd stop her boarding. They also refused to give any receipt for the money she paid.
This is an absolute disgrace. What are these people doing and how do they get away with it? Does Virgin Nigeria actually charge for an infant to fly and if so, what is the real charge? If these people are anything but criminals why did they refuse to issue a receipt stating the amount and what it was for? She's now wondering if the crooks employed by this airline are going to try the same on her return journey.
I've tried telephoning their office in Lagos, but as usual, it's impossible to get a reply. I'm sure that if Richard Branson knew about the frauds perpetrated by staff of one of his associate companies he'd be horrified at how the Virgin name is being brought into disrepute. Quite rightly too - it's a complete disgrace, even for Nigeria