Stranded passengers shut down Abuja airport

Passengers who were stranded at the Nnamdi Azikwe International on Friday, January 30 shut down activities as they protested over the incessant flight delays.

According to , the passengers who were scheduled to travel to Ibadan by Arik Air were left stranded for hours by the airline.

To show their grievances, the angry passengers shut down operations at the airport as they blocked the boarding gate of the airport and did not allow Arik and other airlines to board passengers to other destinations.

Speaking to Premium Times, a civil social activist and one of the stranded passengers, Saka Waheed, said that the aborted flight was originally schedule for 3.25pm but as at 9:30pm, they were still at the airport.

“Later, they came to tell us it had been changed to 4p.m. By 4 o’clock, they said flight would be 7pm. When it was 7, we were directed to enter a bus to take us to the tarmac so that we could board the plane and leave for Ibadan. Although we entered the bus, yet the driver later told us to get down. In short, that was the point we were told the flight had been cancelled, after we had spent over four hours at the airport,” Mr. Waheed said.

According to him, the passengers have not been able to assess their luggage, which had already been checked in and that neither airport officials nor Arik Air staff had explained to them why the flight was cancelled.

“Because of that treatment, we are not allowing anybody to travel out of Abuja until either airport officials or Arik officials come to address us,” Mr. Waheed said.