Airlines operating in Nigeria have had to reschedule and cancel flights over thetemporary closure of Abuja Airport runway.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) yesterday notified passengers and airport users that the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, would be closed for some minutes.
BusinessDay’s checks show that the closure lasted for about one hour.
This was to enable the Authority take safety precautions, as a private jet operated by Nest Oil skidded off the runway.
“The aircraft lost its landing gear in the process, but all hands are on deck to put the situation under control and normalcy would be restored within the hour,” the authority said.
Chris Iwarah, corporate communications manager, Air Peace Limited, told BusinessDay that two of its aircraft that plan to go to Owerri from Abuja could not take off because we were about taking off before the incident happened.
“Also, our Lagos-Abuja aircraft was hovering in the air for some minutes and they returned to Lagos because they could not land. The incident also affected Port Harcourt. This incident will cause us money; we have lost on fuel and on rescheduling our passengers. It has disrupted our internal operations,” Iwarah said.
He said more than seven of its frequencies were affected by the incident.
Kingsley Ezenwa, spokesperson for Dana Air, told BusinessDay that the closure also affected Dana’s operations as the airline tried its best to reschedule its flights.
“This is causing delays as we have to think of how to reroute and accommodate everyone. We have not cancelled flights yet,” Ezenwa said.
