TheCable

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it has commenced investigation of the alleged “maltreatment” of over 200 Nigeria-bound passengers by Lufthansa Airlines.

Sam Adurogboye, the general manager of public affairs, NCAA, spoke to TheCable on Friday.

Earlier this week, a Lufthansa flight LH566 from Frankfurt slated to arrive on March 3, 2023, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos, as a direct flight; reportedly diverted to Cotonou, Togo, and later to Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea.

The flight, which had over 200 Nigeria-bound passengers on board and only about 15 passengers destined for Malabo, later arrived in Lagos at 2:00 am on March 4, 2023 — instead of the original schedule (arriving Lagos by 5:45 pm on March 3, 2023, before flying to Equatorial Guinea’s capital).

The pilot told passengers that the diversion was due to the closure of the Lagos airport.

‘NO WITNESSES YET BUT PROBING HAS BEGUN’

Speaking on the issue, Adurogboye said the agency had just received the report of the alleged maltreatment of the over 200 Nigeria-bound passengers and seeks to investigate the event.

He said although no passenger has made any attempt to report to the authorities, necessary measures would be taken.

“We only became aware of the incident yesterday (Thursday) and we have begun an investigation,” he said.

“We would like to know when, where, and why the passengers got such treatment and be sure of the steps to take.

“Although there are no witnesses yet, we have our consumer department begin their investigation into the matter. We would not also want to have our job done on mere sayings from third parties but from those involved.”