Plane diversion: NCAA suspends all foreign lease aircrafts of United Nigeria Airlines 

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has suspended all foreign lease aircraft under United Nigeria Airlines  after the airline operator diverted its Lagos-Abuja en route flight to Asaba on Sunday.

Reports have it that passengers expressed worry when a United Airlines aeroplane landed in Asaba International Airport on Sunday rather than the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA).

Consequently, a report emerged that all the wet lease aircraft under United Nigeria Airlines have been suspended.

Aviation watchers have described the action as unprofessional and needing a thorough investigation.

It was confirmed that the sub-Part G of their AOC is suspended. This means all their foreign registered aircraft are on subpart G.

“If you take the flight from Lagos to Abuja, the Captain is supposed to announce that it is landing in Asaba for whatever reason, but that was not the case.

“The director of the NCAA has the power to suspend that operation pending the investigation on the matter”.

Some passengers who boarded a plane from the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Ikeja, Lagos have recounted their ordeals after the plane which was meant to carry the passengers to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, landed at the Asaba Airport in Delta State.

The incident which  threw many passengers into confusion as some of them said upon landing at the Asaba airport, the crew still announced to them that they had arrived at Abuja.

One of the passengers, who gave her name simply as Thelma, said she thought she was dreaming and had to take pictures of the airport as evidence.

Thelma said the pilot of the United Airlines flight apologised to passengers that he got the wrong flight plan.

Thelma said, “We were surprised and shocked, especially when one of the crew members announced that we had arrived in Abuja. Some of the passengers had walked towards the front to know what was happening. Some even wondered if the plane had been hijacked. We were there for about 15 minutes when the pilot said he got the wrong flight plan. He said we would fly to Abuja shortly.”

Thelma said when the flight took off in Lagos, she suspected that it might be going the wrong route because “it was flying by the coastline” which she noted was unusual.

“It was making sense until I found out that we were in Asaba,” she added.

A Kano politician, Dawisu Yakasai, who was also on the plane, said it was obvious the pilot was given the wrong plan from Lagos.

“Nigeria my country. We departed Lagos about an hour ago  to Abuja, and upon arrival, the cabin crew confidently announced that we’d arrived Abuja, only for us to realise that we landed in Asaba. Apparently, our pilot was given the wrong flight plan from Lagos". 

 United Airlines boosts travel experience for physically challenged customers
 United Airlines grows revenue to $14.2bn
Other passengers who were also on the flight took to social media to narrate their experiences with some sharing videos and pictures of when they were on the flight.