More than 200 passengers were delayed for 5-hours as Air France plane bound for Houston Texas in the United States developed mechanical in Abuja.
The passengers who checked into the aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport
Abuja were delayed for almost five hours before being told that there was a mechanical problem and ordered to disembark .
The flight earlier scheduled for 6:50pm Sunday was delayed till 11:15pm.
Some of the checked-in passengers who spoke to AIT News said they suffered serious discomfort even before boarding as the airport’s departure hall had no functional cooling system and inside the aircraft, checked in passengers were also kept in simmering heat with the plane’s cooling system apparently not working.
Bottles of cold water were later passed around by flight attendants who kept announcing that take off will be in 30-minutes with no explanation given for the delay.
However at about 11:15pm, the aircraft’s captain announced there was a mechanical problem and cancellation of the flight.
The frustrated passengers were asked to disembark and later checked into hotels in the Abuja city centre.
A source told AIT News that Air France apologized for the incident, promising to airlift the passengers by 3pm on Monday.
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The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA’s Directior, public affairs and consumer protection, Micheal Achimugu told AIT that the authority is aware and will look into it for appropriate actions within its existing act.
AIT also reached out to Air France through an email but there was no response.
However, from a chat via WhatsApp messenger, the airline’s virtual instant message said “We regret to know about the 5-hour delay you experienced at Abuja Airport. Could you please let us know how you wish us to address you? For us to be able to retrieve your booking, please provide us with your booking code, consisting of 6 alphanumeric characters similar to “ABC3EF,” or your 13-digit ticket number similar to the following format: “057-1234567890,” and the full name of the passenger. We await your response”
In June, 2024, some Nigerians who boarded Air France flight from Paris to Abuja were stranded
In Chad due to flight disruption.
(Editor: Okechukwu Eze)
