| credits: File copy
Hundreds
of passengers were stranded for 18 hours at the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday following an air incident
involving a Saudi Arabian cargo plane.
The Boeing 747 with registration
K74798, landed at about 10:12pm on Wednesday, but veered off the
runway into the maintenance area, pulling with it a maintenance
equipment.
The development halted flight
operations at the airport until about 5pm on Thursday when the Ministry
of Aviation issued a statement announcing the NAIA reopening.
Arik Air and Aero Contractors, had prior to announcement, cancelled all their flights out of the NAIA.
The plane, which The PUNCH
learnt was carrying five armoured Personnel carriers purchased by the
Federal Government to aid the crusade against Boko Haram insurgents,
dragged the maintenance equipment with one of its wings before
stopping.
At the departure terminal of the Abuja airport, hundreds of passengers waited patiently but some later became angry.
A passenger, who identified himself
simply as Ismail, said, “This cargo plane got stuck since
last(Wednesday) night but nothing meaningful has happened. Why is it
taking this long to clear or tow it away?”
Another traveller, Mr. Uchechukwu Greg, described the development as “worrisome and annoying.”
He said, “Why is the aviation ministry
doing this to passengers? Must they make us pass through this pain
often? With what has happened, most of us have missed important
engagements.”
A senior official of the Airline
Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed Tukur, described the development as a
“shame on the sector.”
He said, “The Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria know what
they need to have in an airport like the one in Abuja to address
challenging situations fast.
“In a situation whereby you have an
international airport and you cannot provide facilities needed during
emergencies, then you are wasting your time.
“Instead of them buying things that are
not vital, they should look for the right equipment for the smooth
operation of the airport. Our major airports must have the right
facilities to address emergencies.”
The Ministry of Aviation however said in another statement that the cargo aircraft was successfully recovered to the apron.
It said, “It took the combined emergency
response efforts of the aviation agencies like the NCAA and FAAN as
well as Customs, the Security agencies and Fire Service personnel to
accomplish the feat in record time.”
The Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau, according to the statement, had commenced investigations into the incident.
It added that preliminary report would be released as soon as possible.
Ealier, the Special Assistant to the
Aviation Minister on Media, Mr Joe Obi, had in another statement said
no casualty was recorded.
Obi added that officials of the AIPB,
NCAA, FAAN and other relevant agencies, had made preliminary
assessment visit to the NAIA.
The statement reads in part, “In the
meantime, flights into Abuja have been temporarily suspended to
facilitate evacuation efforts to clear the runway.
“Normal operations will resume
immediately the aircraft is removed. While it must be noted that the
incident is not a plane crash, the Federal Ministry of Aviation regrets
all inconveniences this must have caused our esteemed air travellers and
airport users.”
The PUNCH however learnt that the
plane was carrying five units of the latest United States-made APCs
ordered by the Federal Government to aid the war against terrorists in
the North-East.
Aviation sources close to the military
told one of our correspondents that sophisticated armoured vehicles,
though made in the US, were assembled in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
One of the aviation sources said the
APCs were off-loaded around 6pm on Thursday and handed over to top
government officials and security chiefs.
Boko Haram insurgents had on Monday
attacked the Composite Group Air Force Base near the Maiduguri
International Airport in Borno State.
Source PUNCH.
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