SAN FRANCISCO, September 24, (THEWILL) – British Airways passengers were on Sunday trapped inside the plane by the heavy continuous rain that occurred around the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and its environ.
The passengers were trapped inside the plane for more than 55minutes as the plane that landed at about 6pm was left unattended to by the airline’s ground staff at the airport and the Nigeria ground handling company, Nigeria Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO.
The aircraft was eventually toed to gate at about 6.55pm by NAHCO.
Reacting to the incident, an airline owner and a pilot, said : “I feel so ashamed right now, passengers sat on the aircraft for 55mins.
“We need an explanation and corrective action from NAHCO MD please, this international embarrassment must stop, we must all get our act together collectively to make this nation the one all of us would be proud of, I am sure we could achieve this.”
In a swift reaction, the Communication Manager of NAHCO, Mr Tayo Ajakaiye said it was not safe to move into the rain and start communication with the pilot because of lightning and thunder, adding that a similar incident happened before.
“Please what happened was not the fault of NAHCO. The rain was heavy so much so that the BA pilot and the BA engineer on ground could not communicate among themselves. They had to allow the rain to subside,” he said.
“The last time something similar happened in case of another airline, the engineer who entered the rain with his communication gadget was struck by lightening. He almost died and had to be rushed to NAHCO clinic.
“NAHCO staff were waiting for directives from BA Engineers.”
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