Some passengers of Uganda Airlines are currently stranded in Lagos, following an incident with one of its aircraft.However, a source close to the airline told The Guardian yesterday that its management had deployed another aircraft, Airbus A330-800Neo, to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, to airlift some of the trapped passengers to Entebbe, Uganda.
It was gathered that the A330-800Neo had an Aircraft On Ground (AOG) on landing in Lagos last Monday. AOG, in the aviation circle, is a critical status indicating a plane is grounded and unable to fly due to a mechanical issue, missing part, or urgent maintenance need, requiring immediate attention to resolve costly downtime and flight disruptions.
At press time, the faulty aircraft was still grounded in Nigeria, while the management sourced replacement parts. However, despite this, our source said the airline’s management had deployed another aircraft to Lagos to eventually airlift some of its passengers out of Lagos in the early hours of Tuesday, 2:45 a.m. to be precise.
The source, nevertheless, clarified that last Monday’s passengers had been flown out of Nigeria to their various destinations through Rwandair and Kenya Airways.
The source said: “One of our aircraft is still stuck in Lagos. It had an AOG in Lagos on arrival here, but we have airlifted the affected passengers through our partner carriers – Rwandair and Kenya Airways.
“Also, for our passengers out of Lagos on Monday, they will be airlifted by 2:45 a.m. on Tuesday because another aircraft is already on its way to Lagos. Definitely, we will take care of our clients. We are always responsible for them.”
Uganda Airlines’ X verified account, though, regretted the inconveniences to passengers. The airline said: ‘Thank you for your concern. We understand and regret the inconvenience caused by the recent disruption and are working on restoring normal operations.
“UR111 is en route to Entebbe from London-Gatwick. We greatly appreciate your support and thank you.” Uganda Airlines operates twice weekly to Lagos – Mondays and Thursdays. The airline also operates the Abuja route.
