The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the protest by some Nigerian passengers onboard an Air France flight, who engaged airline staff in a heated confrontation over alleged poor in-flight service.

The incident was captured in a video that surfaced on social media, triggering a wave of complaints from passengers about the airline’s service.

Sunday PUNCH could not immediately confirm where and when the incident actually occurred, but the altercation reportedly disrupted the flight as several passengers voiced complaints about what they described as inhumane treatment by the airline.

The NCAA said its investigation would determine when the incident actually occurred.

In the video, passengers are seen engaging in a shouting match with flight attendants, accusing them of denying passengers water during the flight and speaking to them disrespectfully.

The confrontation escalated after one of the attendants allegedly told a passenger to “shut up,” a remark that drew sharp reactions from other Nigerians onboard.

A female flight attendant later threatened to call the police, a move that further angered the passengers.

“Let them call police, we are not scared of police,” one passenger shouted in the footage.

Another added, “You want to call police on us because we dey talk?”

As the argument intensified, two male airline officials joined the female attendant in an attempt to manage the situation.

However, several passengers continued to complain that they were not offered water throughout the flight.

“This is not normal. Why can’t you give us water to drink? It is not normal,” a woman was heard shouting.

Another passenger accused the airline of treating Nigerians without dignity.

“Don’t you know we are human beings? Let us go, we want to go,” he said.

Speaking in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, said preliminary findings by the aviation regulator indicated that the incident did not occur within the timeframe being suggested online.

He insisted that the viral video showing the passengers was not recent and was not connected to any Abuja flight, contrary to claims on social media.

The NCAA publicist said, “That video is old, not recent. I checked with our Consumer Protection Officers yesterday (Friday), and Air France did not even operate any Abuja flights yesterday, definitely not.”

According to Achimugu, the NCAA is still investigating the exact circumstances surrounding the footage, including where and when the incident actually occurred, noting that it might have taken place outside Nigeria.

He added, “We are suspecting that it was a flight that was diverted to Lomé, and while they were on the ground in Lomé, that might have been when this happened. However, we are still trying to get details about the incident.”

Achimugu disclosed that the NCAA contacted Air France’s Lagos station as part of its verification process, and the airline denied that the incident involved any of its recent flights.

He added that the viral footage, while disturbing, did not on its own establish wrongdoing by the airline.

Emphasising standard aviation practice, the NCAA spokesman said it would be highly unlikely for an airline to deliberately refuse passengers access to drinking water.

“The video itself does not provide evidence against the airline. What it shows is unruly passengers. Even on domestic airlines, it’s not possible that you will ask for water and they won’t give you,” he said.

Achimugu further noted that the disturbance in the video appeared to involve only a small group of passengers, while the majority remained calm.

Speaking further, Achimugu said while their behaviour appeared disorderly, he would not make assumptions about intoxication.

“We have seen issues like this before. If you see the way our people behave abroad, one will be ashamed to be a Nigerian. Even if the airline refused to give you water, that is not the way to behave,” he said.

Achimugu assured the public that the NCAA would continue to investigate the matter and provide updates once the authority obtained more information.

This is not the first time Air France has been accused of ill-treatment towards Nigerian passengers.

In 2025, the Federal Government threatened to sanction the airline for allegedly mistreating and abandoning 300 Nigerians at the Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport, Lomé, Togo.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, directed the airline to airlift the stranded Nigerians, threatening that the Nigerian government would not approve a summer schedule for the airline.

Also in 2020, a passenger petitioned the then Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and the management of the NCAA over the alleged maltreatment of Nigeria-bound passengers flying on Air France.

In a letter sent to the minister and the NCAA, the passenger explained how an Abuja-bound Air France flight, AF878, from Charles de Gaulle Airport on December 29, 2019, took a detour to Chad without informing passengers at the point of ticket purchase or trip planning.

According to the passenger, when the flight finally arrived in Abuja, a quarter of the passengers’ luggage did not arrive with them, while others who received their luggage discovered that their bags had been opened and possibly pilfered, with valuable items missing.

A passenger, Nwodo Fidelis, on Monday, January 12, called out the airline and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria in a Facebook post, alleging repeated cases of disrespectful conduct by some Air France staff and what he described as inadequate intervention by FAAN officials at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Efforts to get the reaction of Air France on the recent viral video were unsuccessful, as messages sent to the telephone number listed on the airline’s website were not returned as of the time of filing this report.