FG probes British Airways over delayed departure

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is investigating British Airways over persistent delays of departure for three consecutive days.

The authority also said, as part of the investigation, it would inspect all all aircraft on the Nigerian route for regulatory compliance under its Foreign Aircraft Safety Assessment Programme.

Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, who confirmed the development said the UK flag carrier has been delaying departure for about three consecutive days since August 27th.

It said this has resulted in many inconveniences to members of the traveling public.

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Amidst the British Airways controversy, Qatar Airways passengers were also stranded at the Abuja airport on Friday following an aborted takeoff of the aircraft.

Achimugu speaking on the British Airways incident, said, “The NCAA has contacted BA and initiated investigation into these frequent delays to establish the root cause of these delays and take appropriate action to ensure passenger rights are protected and also prevent recurrence.

“The investigation will include intensified inspections under the NCAA/ICAO FASAP (Foreign Aircraft Safety Assessment Programme) of all aircraft on the Nigerian route for regulatory compliance.

“The traveling public should be rest assured that the NCAA will do all within its powers to ensure their rights are protected in support of the HMA’S policy to eliminate unnecessary flight delays.”

In the same vein, Hundreds of passengers of Qatar Airways were also stranded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as the aircraft they are travelling aborted takeoff following a punctured tyre.

According to a staff member of the airline, Mr Godwin, flight QR 1432 scheduled to depart the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for Doha, capital of Qatar, was heading to the runway where it picked up a nail that deflated one of the front tyres.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, we are in the last stage of the emergency repair of the tyre, as maintenance required, we have to fix both front tyres we will be done in a short while,” he appealed according to one of the passengers.

One of the stranded passengers identified as Mr. Umar said, “It is quite unfortunate that this happened, my concern is about some of us that have connecting flights, I hope this delay won’t affect my business trip.”

Another passenger who pleaded anonymity expressed shock over the incident, wondering why a tyre would pick a nail prior to takeoff.

However, when asked to comment on the Qatar Airways incident, the NCAA spokesman said he was not yet aware of the incident and promised to get back to our correspondent.