The Tunisian pilot of the chartered aircraft in which the Super Eagles flew to Libya, has explained how the authorities in the North African country diverted the flight to another airport.
The Nigerian delegation arrived at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, at about 5.50pm local time on Monday after the federal government decided that the Super Eagles should return home pending the outcome of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) investigation into the debacle.
Daily Trust had reported how the Nigerian stars were stranded in the North African Country for over 16 hours.
Following Nigeria’s defeat of Libya in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Friday, a return leg for the ongoing AFCON 2025 Qualifier was fixed for Benghazi, Libya, on Tuesday.
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Ahead of the return leg, the Nigerian team was expected to land at Benina International Airport from where they were to connect Benghazi, host city of the game, but instead the chartered flight, which conveyed them was diverted to Al Abaq International airport, which is only used for hajj operations.
In a video interview shared on X by Sport Analyst, Festus Dada, the pilot said the risky diversion was unexpected.
According to the Tunisian, his warning to the Libyans on the risks of doing so with limited fuel, fell on deaf ears.
He said: “The flight plan was to land at Benghazi, Benina, and we had the approval from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to do so.
“However, when we began our descent, they instructed us to divert to Al-Abraq, which is almost 150 miles away, around 300 kilometres east. It wasn’t even our alternate airport, something which is not good.”
On potential risks of the diversion, he said: “In aviation, we have our flight plan, we calculate the fuel to our destination, so we have to avoid this kind of thing because it may make a breach to safety. I repeatedly questioned the directive.
“When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorisation, they said no, it’s from the highest authority, you have to land in Al-Abraq.”
He continued: “Everything is registered in aviation, we cannot hide anything, so I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them, probably I will be in trouble for fuel; they said it’s from highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq.
“The truth was we were going to Benghazi, and I can show you the evidence of the approval, I have it. But at the last minute, they changed their mind and changed the airport.
“There is no ILS (Instrument Landing System), no air navigation approach, no VHR (VHF Omnidirectional Range). We had to make a visual landing, which is particularly difficult by night with marginal weather.
“It was not an easy matter at all. When a pilot hears this, he will understand that it was not an easy thing to land under such conditions. Thank God we made it safely.”
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