A Nigerian, Mr. Chidi Adabanya, who is alleging racist discrimination by Air France, has brought a suit against the airline claiming over £1.501 million (N370.51million).
The suit was filed at a Federal High Court, Lagos and the Nigerian is praying for the refund of the sum of £1,381 (N341,107) which the plaintiff claimed he paid as excess luggage, the interest on the sum at 30 per cent per annum from May 30, 2003 till judgment, damages in the sum of £1.5 million (N370.5million)
He is also asking for the cost of the action in court, interested on the judgment debt at 30 per cent per annum from date of judgment till full and final satisfaction thereof.
In a 43-paragraph statement of claim, Mr. Adabanya is alleging that on May 17, 2003 he and his family boarded the defendant's flight No AF 85, from Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos to Charles D Gaulle Airport, Paris France.
According to him, he carried a piece of luggage weighing 27 kilogrammes as shown in his baggage identification tag and without paying for any extra luggage.
He further averred that he left to Paris from London without his family on May 25, 2005, aboard Air France, adding that this time he carried a luggage weighing 26 kilogrammes as shown in his baggage identification tag and without paying for any extra luggage.
As he put it, after doing some shopping in Paris consisting of clothes, toys, souvenirs etc, the weight of his luggage weighed 62 kilogrammes with each of the two luggage weighing 31 kilogrammes.
In his own estimation, none of the language exceeded 32 kilogrammes even with his own purchase electronic weighing scale a day earlier.
On May 30, 2005 at Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, France, the plaintiff as he claimed, was told by a female staff of the airport that he was carrying excess luggage.
Air this time, the claimant continued, he was told by the same lady that he was entitled to travel with one piece of language which must not weigh more than 23 kilogrammes, adding that any weight above this must be paid for.
The Nigerian passenger then referred the French lady to his ticket, which entitles him to two pieces of luggage.
When the supervisor of the airline was called in to solve the disagreement, she was said to have directed the first lady staff to stop the Nigerian passenger from boarding if he failed to pay for the excess load.
Again, the supervisor was quoted, as saying that the two luggage allowed by the airline is not meant for Africans but their white superiors.
It was this statement according to the plaintiff that he considered racist in nature, adding that the money he was asked to pay in excess was a racist's extortion.
In paragraph 31 of the statement of claim, the plaintiff said that the treatment he received from the airline especially the discrimination of privilege greatly injured his feelings of dignity and pride, emotionally and psychologically traumatised him apart from telling him that he was sub-human."
He further disclosed that since he had no option he had to pay for the excess luggage since the option given him by the airline was that if he failed to pay, the luggage would be seized and destroyed as was the rule with the airline.
But the airline in its own statement of defence said that it allow 64 kilogrammes a maximum weight of luggage that passengers on its Lagos to London and London to Lagos route can carry, while Lagos to Paris and Paris to Lagos is 23 kilogrammes.
The airline added that this condition is contained in the ticket and its brochure to all passengers, adding that Mr. Adabanya's trip from London to Paris where he spent five days on vocation before finally leaving for Lagos could not be termed a continuous journey but separate journey which had no such particulars attached which the airlines claimed the plaintiff was aware.
The airline, however, denied and said that none of its staff verbally or otherwise assault or injured Mr. Adabanya's feeling on May 30, 2005, at Charles De Gaulle Airport and if there was any among its staff, the plaintiff would have easily identified the staff because all the staff of the airline wear name tags.
The matter comes up on Monday May 23.
