As a result of the continuous low visibility challenge at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Delta Airlines on Friday diverted it’s Atlanta-Lagos fight back to Atlanta.
An affected passenger who was at the airport said the diversion came as a very big surprise to everyone as the pilot said it was impossible to land at Lagos airport because of the low visibility.
For the past six days foreign airlines have been diverting flights to Accra, Cotonou and Dakar, as experts in the aviation sector have continued to blame the situation on the failure of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to provide functional Instrument Landing Systems, (ILS) to enable airlines take-off and land at the MMIA Lagos.
BusinessDay’s checks show Accra airport is currently too congested to take in any more flight so going forward it may be difficult for all airlines to land or take off from Accra.
While some advanced airports operate under as low as zero visibility, the foggy weather in Lagos have kept aircraft on ground and left thousands of passengers stranded at neighbouring countries where these flights were diverted to.
Since the diversion started over 1500 Nigerians have remained stranded at the Kotoka International Airport Accra
“I just arrived Accra en route Washington DC after being stranded in Lagos for the past two days. I’m one of many victims of Nigerian aviation authorities’ failure to install aviation safety equipment that led to massive cancellations of international flights to and from Lagos.
“Why are the simplest things so difficult for our government and its agencies? Air safety standards in Nigerian airports have always been a problem in Nigeria. Meanwhile, fires have swept through Onitsha and Nnewi markets in recent times with no effective firefighting response!” Kingsley Muoghalu, renowned Nigerian political economist and lawyer stated on twitter.
“How do I tell my business partners/clients that the largest airport in our country is basically closed because we cannot arranged to have vital equipment properly “calibrated”?
This after we list got “blacklisted” by the US because we essentially ignored their security request,” Andrew Ambrose-Alli, who was also affected by the development lamented in Twitter.
