News
The management of Golden Tulip Hotel
in Apapa, Lagos has cleared the air on the reported rumour making the rounds in
the media that it ejected Turkish Airlines’ passengers lodging in the hotel.
According to the management, such
report is malicious, adding that nothing of such happened as the hotel took
great care of the passengers.
Some Lagos-Instanbul bound
Turkish Airlines’ passengers were lodged in the hotel on January 7, 2017,
following the airline’s inability to carry its passengers due to bad weather in
Instanbul, Turkey.
Reacting to the media reports, Mr.
Paul Okojie, Rooms Division Manager of Golden Tulip, said the hotel did not
eject its Turkish Airlines’ passengers
and had no reason to do so for “one of its most valuable clients.”
He, therefore, described the
media reports as “false, unfounded, mischievous, a tissue of lies and a figment
of the writers’ imagination.”
According to Okojie, “We were
bewildered to read the reports in some newspapers. Let me state clearly that
those reports were absolutely wrong and false, as we took care of the
passengers lodging in our hotel providing them with befitting accommodation,
breakfast, lunch and dinner. We also lodged the crew and Turkish Airlines
staffers who came regularly to visit the lodging passengers.”
While stressing the need to
always verify the facts before rushing to the press, Okojie said, “The intent
of the journalists who published the story remain unclear, as the hotel
management was not contacted by the journalists to confirm their reports before
going to press. This is totally unfair and unprofessional, as the flight
disruption affected all Turkish Airlines passengers heading for Instanbul,
where the airline was experiencing bad weather.”
He explained: “Our hotel has a
very solid and one of the most outstanding partnerships since inception with
Turkish Airlines. So, we did not have any reason to eject our client’s
passengers. The passengers were 232 and came in batches through Saturday 7th
and Sunday 8th January, 2017. This is contrary to rumour as reported
by some newspapers that the passengers were totaling 410.
“As a matter of fact our sellable
rooms in the hotel including those already being occupied by existing customers
are 345. So, where do we get extra rooms to lodge 410 rooms?” he queried.
He explained that “What Turkish
Airlines has done by keeping its passengers in a hotel due to the bad weather
in Europe until it could guarantee their safety to be flown was within
international standards as prescribed in the aviation industry.”
Okojie reiterated the hotel
commitment to an enduring working relationship with Turkish Airlines, which he
described as one of the most patronised airlines in Nigeria as a result of its
affordability and high focus on safety.
“So far, most of the passengers
have been air-lifted and only about 30 of them are still with us in the hotel
and they are expected to be flown out of Lagos by Saturday, January 14, 2017,”
he said.
It will be recalled that, Turkish
Airlines could not pick passengers to their destinations via Istanbul on
January 7, citing weather condition in Europe, especially in Istanbul and this
affected its passengers leading to lodging them in hotels in Lagos.
Turkey is facing the harshest
snow in 10 years which affected all flights coming into Instanbul, as the
‘heavy snow’ of 1.2 meter above sea level, has resulted in loss of lives.
The airline provided two reliefs
for its passengers in Lagos advising them to proceed to its Head Office at 1,
Adeola Odeku Str. Victoria island Lagos for a change of ticket to other
available dates or ask for a full refund at their ticket purchase units, mostly
at different travel agents, where they had purchased their ticket.
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