PUNCH - Hundreds
of passengers were stranded for 18 hours at the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday following an air incident
involving a Saudi Arabian cargo plane.
The Boeing 747 with registration
K74798, landed at about 10:12pm on Wednesday, but veered off the
runway into the maintenance area, pulling with it a maintenance
equipment.
The development halted flight
operations at the airport until about 5pm on Thursday when the Ministry
of Aviation issued a statement announcing the NAIA reopening.
Arik Air and Aero Contractors, had prior to announcement, cancelled all their flights out of the NAIA.
The plane, which The PUNCH
learnt was carrying five armoured Personnel carriers purchased by the
Federal Government to aid the crusade against Boko Haram insurgents,
dragged the maintenance equipment with one of its wings before
stopping.
At the departure terminal of the Abuja airport, hundreds of passengers waited patiently but some later became angry.
A passenger, who identified himself
simply as Ismail, said, “This cargo plane got stuck since
last(Wednesday) night but nothing meaningful has happened. Why is it
taking this long to clear or tow it away?”
Another traveller, Mr. Uchechukwu Greg, described the development as “worrisome and annoying.”
He said, “Why is the aviation ministry
doing this to passengers? Must they make us pass through this pain
often? With what has happened, most of us have missed important
engagements.”
A senior official of the Airline
Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed Tukur, described the development as a
“shame on the sector.”
He said, “The Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria know what
they need to have in an airport like the one in Abuja to address
challenging situations fast.
“In a situation whereby you have an
international airport and you cannot provide facilities needed during
emergencies, then you are wasting your time.
“Instead of them buying things that are
not vital, they should look for the right equipment for the smooth
operation of the airport. Our major airports must have the right
facilities to address emergencies.”
The Ministry of Aviation however said in another statement that the cargo aircraft was successfully recovered to the apron.
It said, “It took the combined emergency
response efforts of the aviation agencies like the NCAA and FAAN as
well as Customs, the Security agencies and Fire Service personnel to
accomplish the feat in record time.”
The Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau, according to the statement, had commenced investigations into the incident.
It added that preliminary report would be released as soon as possible.
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