FG Probes British Airways Over Persistent Delayed Departure

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

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

This was confirmed by the Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, noting that the UK flag carrier has been delaying departure for about three consecutive days since August 27th.

Achimugu said this has resulted in many inconveniences to members of the travelling public.

According to him, “The NCAA has contacted BA and initiated an 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 travelling public should 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 were travelling with aborted takeoff following a punctured tyre.

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According to a staff member of the airline, Mr Godwin, flight QR 1432, scheduled to depart the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for Doha, the 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 is required; we have to fix both front tyres. We will be done in a short while,” he appealed, according to one of the passengers.