Passengers Stranded As Cargo Plane Grounds Abuja Airport

Thousands of Abuja-bound travellers were, yesterday, stranded at airports across the country, following an incident involving a Saudi Arabian cargo plane on the runway of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, which led to closure of the facility.

The temporary closure of the airport, to make way for evacuation of the Boeing 747 aircraft, led to cancellation of flights into the airport. It was, however, re-opened 18 hours after it was shut to
traffic.

Although there were different accounts of the incident, a staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN, who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said the large cargo plane had landed at the airport at about 9p.m. on Wednesday night and was taxiing along the runway when it hit construction equipment parked close to the runway.

The source further revealed that the impact of the incident damaged the aircraft and rendered it immobile.
It was also gathered that due to lack of equipment to tow the aircraft away from the runway, the plane was left at the spot where the incident happened, thereby blocking the runway and preventing other aircraft from passing through.

The area around the aircraft was cordoned off by security operatives, and there were unconfirmed reports that the aircraft had military hardware on board.

Some of the stranded passengers, who spoke to our reporter, said that they were confused over the situation as they were not sure of what to do.

NAMA confirms incident, apologises Confirming the incident, General Manager, Public Affairs of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Mr. Supo Atobatele, said the airport was temporarily closed to all arriving flights.

According to Mr. Atobatele, the agency had already issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) to inform all airlines about the incident.

"Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, had since issued a NOTAM (notice to air men) to that effect," he said.

He added that shortly after the incident, the management of the various aviation agencies, including Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA; NAMA; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, were on ground to assess the situation.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Minister of Aviation on Media, Mr. Joe Obi, said the incident did not cause any fatality as all the six passengers aboard the aircraft were safe and alive. Read more