Actor, television and radio presenter Simi Drey has accused TAAG Airlines of mistreatment and incompetence after she was stranded in South Africa for more than 24 hours despite holding a confirmed business class ticket.
In a post shared on Instagram on Tuesday night, Drey said the incident began on January 5 when she was denied boarding on her 11:05am flight, even though her business class ticket was fully paid for and confirmed through Travelstart.
“This is how Nigerians are being treated by TAAG Airlines in South Africa and it demands urgent intervention!!!” she wrote.
According to Drey, the Johannesburg leg of her journey was operated by South African Airways, which told her that her name was not on its passenger manifest, despite TAAG Airlines confirming that her ticket existed in its system.
“There explanation, there was no solution. Just denial,” she said.
She explained that she was placed on a waitlist for a 3:30pm TAAG flight, which was overbooked and departed without her. She was later rebooked on a midnight flight on January 6, only to be informed at the airport that she was again on standby for a fully booked flight.
“Standby means I only fly if someone else does not show up,” Drey wrote, adding, “I am a breastfeeding mother trying to get back to my baby.”
Describing the experience as unacceptable, she said, “Being stranded repeatedly without accountability, transparency or care is unacceptable. This goes beyond inconvenience. It is distressing, exhausting and deeply unfair.”
In a later update, Drey said the airline informed her that there was one available seat on the next flight, but only in economy class and on the condition that she signed a waiver accepting a voluntary downgrade and forfeiting compensation.
“This is not an upgrade issue. This is coercion and it’s unacceptable,” she wrote.
Drey tagged the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, calling for urgent intervention and accountability.
TAAG Airlines is Angola’s national carrier and operates regional and international routes across Africa, Europe and South America.
