Abuja Flight Diversion: United Nigeria Airlines Lied Over Weather Issues-FG

Minister of Aviation and AeroSpace Development Festus Keyamo has revealed the truth about the Abuja flight diversion to Asaba by United Nigeria Airlines on Sunday, November 26, 2023.

According to the Minister, United Nigeria Airlines lied when it blamed “weather” as the reason its Abuja-bound passengers found themselves in Asaba, the Delta State capital. He said this after an emergency meeting with the Heads of Aviation agencies on Tuesday, November 27, 2023.

Keyamo has also issued fresh directives to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to prevent future occurrences.

The Minister said: Because of the incident that happened recently, where a flight to Abuja ended up in Asaba, NSIB must have their reports within 10 days on what really transpired.

“There was no weather problem last Sunday. NiMet’s DG is here. It was a question about a wet lease plane. Pilots and the cabin crew were foreigners. They were not familiar with the Nigerian terrain. So, it was purely an issue of in-house administrative issues.”

The Minister then directed that all wet lease planes operating in Nigeria must have a Nigerian pilot and Nigerians as their cabin crew. This followed claims that the wet lease by United Nigeria Airlines was solely occupied by foreigners unfamiliar with the country’s geography.

Recall that the pilot took off from Lagos and flew straight to Asaba, not Abuja, according to a report from the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) tower.

He also directed the NCAA to summon all the pilots and crew operating wet leases in Nigeria within 72 hours for further briefing