London passengers disrupt Med-View operations over flights rescheduling

Some Lagos-London passengers of MedView Airline yesterday thronged the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos to complain about the rescheduling of their flights.

This is just as the airline explained the circumstances leading to the delay in operations of both the in-bound and outbound London- Gatwick flights, saying it was due to unforeseen circumstances.

At the Lagos Airport, some of the passengers lodged complaints to Consumer Protection Department of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) even as they disrupted the airline’s activities at the check-in counters.

Daily Trust however learnt that the development leading to the delay of the LagosLondon flights started last Friday when the airline’s flight VL201 from London Gatwick to Lagos returned to London shortly after departure following a snag on the aircraft.

The airline in a statement by its Chief Operating Officer (COO)/ Accountable Manager, Mr. Michael Ajigbotosho, disclosed that the flight took off from London-Gatwick on Friday December 22 with about 300 passengers.

However, the pilot-incommand returned to Gatwick shortly after takeoff following a snag on the aircraft in line with standard and recommended practices in global aviation.

The aircraft was eventually declared unserviceable by engineers which led to the cancellation of the flight while efforts were made to get a certified expert to carry out necessary checks on the aircraft.

According to the statement, the passengers were lodged in a hotel in line with civil aviation regulations while those who wanted to go back home were equally catered for.

The airline added that it decided to operate relief flights with three aeroplanes after securing the approval of the Nigerian and UK authorities.

But the airline expressed dismay that the unruly behaviour of some Nigerian passengers prevented it from carrying out the three flights which would have taken care of the backlog of less than 700 passengers and also airlifted the Nigerian passengers.

“These three aeroplanes would have evacuated 700 passengers which would have normalized the situation. But the passengers were uncooperative and we ended up operating two flights out of three,” the statement said.

The airline apologised to the passengers for the inconveniences while reiterating that their safety is more paramount than any other consideration.

It disclosed that the London flight was back to normal on Friday as its new generation B777 aircraft is back to its fleet.

“We use this medium to appeal to our Nigerian customers. As much as we appreciate their patronage and apologise for the experience they went through this Christmas, we seek for their understanding to know that their safety comes first before any other thing.

“We feel their concern and the expectations of meeting their families for the Christmas holiday. Our normal flights resume on Friday for London, Dubai and Jeddah.”