A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited to pay Mrs Joy Nneka Ezetah N13.08 million after she was denied boarding on April 6, 2024. Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala made the award on Monday and directed that the sum attracts 10 per cent annual interest until it is fully paid.
Joy Nneka Ezetah’s Lagos case
Ezetah said she was stopped from boarding Virgin Atlantic’s Lagos to London flight at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos even though she arrived on time, completed check-in and received a boarding pass. She told the court that the blocked trip was part of a four-leg international journey between Lagos and Toronto built around a business-class ticket bought through Air Canada.
She asked the court for N100 million in general damages for negligence. Kala instead awarded $5,906.50 against Virgin Atlantic Airways, then ordered that it be converted to naira using a Central Bank of Nigeria exchange rate of N1,365.50 to one United States dollar. The award came to about N8.08 million before costs.
Virgin Atlantic’s reservation dispute
Virgin Atlantic denied liability and told the court that it was not the issuing carrier for the ticket purchased directly from Air Canada under a code-share arrangement. The airline said an error code within the reservation system prevented it from issuing a boarding pass for the connecting flight.
That defense did not persuade the court. Kala held Virgin Atlantic liable for the losses Ezetah suffered after the aborted trip at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and added N5 million in costs, bringing the total award to about N13.08 million.
Costs, interest and the ruling
The judgment leaves Virgin Atlantic facing both the principal award and continuing interest at 10 per cent per annum until the debt is paid in full. For Ezetah, the ruling turns a denied-boarding dispute into a cash judgment tied to the missed Lagos-London leg and the failed journey that followed.
