What’s Happening With Landing Flights at the MMIA?

Folks on social media are sharing stories of how different airlines, including British Airways, Delta and Emirates, are diverting their Lagos flights to Accra, Ghana, and not landing at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA).

Twitter user @iKillCuriosity shared a document provided to passengers that a British Airways flight from London to Lagos has been canceled, with the passengers offloaded in Ghana instead.

The document sites “adverse weather” at the Lagos Airport and “operational constraints” as the reasons for canceling the flight.

Passengers were advised to find their own travel arrangements to Lagos.

Imagine trying to fly to Lagos and @British_Airways decides to offload you in Ghana instead… that's literally three countries away!!!
I'm still stunned, read the correspondence @afalli just posted. pic.twitter.com/2EdIBMw0hL

— Lawrence (@iKillCuriosity) February 13, 2020

Writer, Molara Wood, quoted the tweet and shared that British Airways isn’t the only airline affected. Passengers have been offloaded in Ghana and Dakar, she shared, and it has to do with “safety issue at MMIA. ‘Fog’, ‘no landing lights’.”

Not just BA. Many international flights affected. Lagos-bound passengers are stranded in places like Accra and Dakar where their flights have diverted and stalled, and it's to do with a safety issue at MMIA. "Fog", "no landing lights". A scandal. And the TL is almost silent on it https://t.co/UqQSbxXt3K

— Molara Wood (@molarawood) February 14, 2020

Other Twitter users report that there are no landing lights in the Lagos Airport, and local airlines have been canceling flights too.

Local airlines are cancelling flights too. Especially to Calabar. Flights to Calabar have been diverted to Uyo severally this year.

— Baba Yaga (PhD by Affidavit) ® 5% (@BabaYagaSE) February 14, 2020

The ILS (Instrument Landing System) is said to be uncalibrated.

— Kuti Malik (@obamalik) February 14, 2020

The ILS (Instrument Landing System) is apparently not calibrated, so planes cannot land when visibility is poor.

Instead of @hadisirika to be spending money on that, he’s wasting it trying to start an airline.

Simple basics we cannot get right under Buhari.

— Yemi Web Master (@ScarTissue101) February 14, 2020

Nothing has been said yet by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).