Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, has urged Turkish authorities to address the problems of transit visas resulting in Nigerians being stranded in Istanbul.Special Assistant on Media and Communications to Keyamo, Mr Tunde Moshood, in a statement, said the Minister also gave reasons Turkish Airlines must respect Nigerian passengers following the standoff between the airline and National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE.
“The delegation, led by the airline’s Vice President in Charge of Africa, Hilemet Mesut Turkseven, included General Manager, Lagos, Lokman Balkan, General Manager, Abuja, Akin Carleal, and the Turkish embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Imdat Karakoc. “The Turkish Airlines delegation conveyed the regards of their CEO, Bilal Eksi, to the Minister, expressing gratitude for his intervention during the recent union actions that had disrupted their operations. Vice President Turkseven thanked the Minister for his support and reiterated the airline’s commitment to Nigeria, highlighting their 18 years of service since commencing operations in 2006.
“The Minister critiqued the airline’s communication strategy during the union actions, attributing the issues to the attitude of the Country Manager. The Minister also put forward three key demands to the Turkish Airlines team. Aircraft upgrades: He requested an upgrade to the aircrafts used for flights to Nigeria.