The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has commenced an investigation into three consecutive days of late arrivals and delayed departures of British Airways (BA) flights at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The aviation regulatory body has reached out to the carrier to determine the root cause of these recent delays and to take appropriate action to ensure passenger rights are protected and to prevent a recurrence.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, Michael Achimugu, in a statement on Friday, said the NCAA has contacted British Airways and launched an investigation into the frequent delays.
“The travelling public should rest assured that the NCAA will do all within its powers to ensure their rights are protected in support of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development’s policy to eliminate unnecessary flight delays,” Achimugu stated.
“The attention of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has been drawn to the late arrivals and subsequent delayed departures of British Airways flights to and from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for about three consecutive days starting from August 27, 2024, which has resulted in many inconveniences to the travelling public.”
In June, Lagos-London flight BA 74 was cancelled twice, causing passengers to experience significant delays and hotel stays.
Many Nigerians and others scheduled to travel to London on British Airways flight were abandoned at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos when the operating aircraft developed technical problem.
The British Airline flight number BA 74 was scheduled to depart from Lagos to London at 10:50pm on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, but the aircraft scheduled to airlift the passengers developed technical problem and was grounded at the airport in Lagos.
The British mega carrier had processed the passengers for the flight, as they were admitted to the waiting lounge before departure through Gate E55.
While the passengers were expecting the announcement for boarding there was eerie silence followed by delays, which was unusual of the airline.
One of the passengers who confirmed the delay, stated, “The airline lacked the courtesy to inform the stranded passengers of the technical issues until after midnight. The flight was finally cancelled after 1:00am. Passengers were asked to cancel their immigration form and go back to baggage claims to collect their already checked-in luggage.” By then, some of the passengers who arrived at the airport early on Wednesday to complete the immigration formalities had spent close to nine hours.
It was about 3:00 am that the passengers left the airport; when they were eventually taken to different hotels in Lagos.
