Ethiopian Airlines has failed to apologise to or compensate Ihembe Martin Ayankaa, a Nigerian researcher at the University of Pretoria, for damaging his suitcase when he travelled to the United Kingdom in August.

On August 26, Ayankaa set out to travel from South Africa to the United Kingdom via Ethiopian Airlines for a conference in Oxford. It was not a direct flight, so he had to land in Ethiopia before boarding a connecting flight to Gatwick Airport.

Ayankaa’s flight was scheduled for 2:30 pm, but it was delayed for three hours, and he eventually left South Africa around 6 pm that day. This delay made him miss his connecting flight to Gatwick, forcing him to spend a night in Addis Ababa.

He was met with another challenge the next day, but this challenge appeared minute to the challenges that would stare him in the face in the following days.

The researcher had set his mind on travelling to Gatwick, but there was no flight to Gatwick for that day. So, he was given the option of boarding a flight to Heathrow Airport.

READ ALSO: Journalist’s Gift Bag Goes Missing on Ethiopian Airline’s Lagos-Addis Ababa Flight

Ayankaa obliged. When he arrived at Heathrow, his suitcase was nowhere to be found.

“I could not find my luggage and was searching for it all over the airport. They asked me to check all the conveyor belts, which I did, but they still could not find my luggage. I went to customer service to complain and was asked to fill out a form,” Ayankaa told FIJ on Wednesday.

Throughout his stay in Oxford, he never heard from Ethiopian Airlines. Ayankaa also told FIJ that the clothes and documents he needed for the conference were in the suitcase, and he had to spend money to get clothes for the conference.

He had not budgeted for these costs, but the airline’s silence left him no choice.

“I thought I would get my suitcase in two days. The only message I got from them was one asking me for the colour of the suitcase, which I responded to. I had no clothes and had to spend money I didn’t budget for,” said Ayankaa.

“My wife bought presents for the family in the UK, which were in the suitcase. I spent five days in Oxford without hearing anything from Ethiopian Airlines about my suitcase.”

READ ALSO: ‘This Letter Looks Forged!’ — Nigerian Journalist Recounts Being Humiliated at Ethiopian Embassy

Before boarding the plane back to Addis Ababa, he spoke with Mr Getachewg, a staff member of Ethiopian Airlines, about his missing suitcase at the airport. Getachewg gave him his phone number and assured him he would get his suitcase.

His suitcase was delivered to his residence in South Africa. He was excited to receive it, but this excitement faded when he saw that the suitcase had not been returned in the same condition he had last seen.

Ayankaa’s damaged suitcase.

“They delivered the suitcase to my residence in South Africa on September 3 and it was damaged. They damaged the suitcase. It was a wedding present, and I was struggling to explain it to my wife,” he said.

Ayankaa told FIJ that he felt bad seeing the suitcase in that condition but he was relieved that the contents were still intact.

He took pictures of the damaged suitcase and sent them to Getachewg, who told him he had sent his phone number to the airline so they could call him. Ayankaa also emailed the airline, but they did not respond.

Over a week later, Ethiopian Airlines was yet to apologise or compensate him for the damaged suitcase.

FIJ emailed the airline on Thursday, but it failed to respond.

Ayankaa’s history with Ethiopian Airlines is not peculiar to him. FIJ reported how a gift bag that belonged to Timothy Ogunade, a Nigerian broadcast journalist resident in the UK, went missing during his trip to Ethiopia.

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