The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has initiated an investigation into allegations that Lufthansa Airlines mistreated over 200 passengers destined for Nigeria.
This was reported on Friday by the general manager of public affairs for the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye.
Lufthansa flight LH566 from Frankfurt was scheduled to arrive at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos as a direct flight on March 3, 2023. Instead, the flight was apparently diverted via Cotonou, Togo, and then to Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.
The flight, which included over 200 passengers intended for Nigeria and approximately 15 people bound for Malabo, arrived in Lagos at 2:00 a.m. on March 4, 2023, as opposed to the original schedule (arriving in Lagos at 5:45 p.m. on March 3, 2023, before traveling to the capital of Equatorial Guinea).
The pilot informed passengers that the detour was necessary since the Lagos airport was closed.
Adurogboye stated that the agency has just received a report of the alleged mistreatment of more than 200 people going for Nigeria and will investigate the incident.
Although no passenger has attempted to contact the authorities, he assured TheCable that the required steps would be performed.
“We were only made aware of the occurrence yesterday (Thursday), and an investigation has been launched,” he said.
“We would like to know when, when, and why the passengers were treated in such a manner and be certain of the next measures.
Since there are currently no witnesses, we have instructed our consumer department to investigate the situation. We would not want to do our work based solely on statements from external parties, but rather from those involved.”