Airlines cancel Lagos flights over curfew

Following the 24-hour curfew imposed on Lagos, all flights in and out of Lagos have been obstructed as local and international airlines have announced cancellation of flights to the nation’s busiest airport.

It was gathered that some airlines may reroute their flights to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Since Monday, protesters have taken over the road leading to the MMA domestic terminal one.

It was learnt yesterday evening that Delta, Africa World Airlines (AWA) and Kenya Airways were among those that cancelled their flights. Also, Azman, Arik and other local airlines announced cancellation of flights to Lagos.

“We regret to inform you that KQ533 scheduled to depart 21/Oct/2020 from LOS-NBO has been cancelled, due to the 24hrs curfew imposed by the Lagos State Government,” said Kenya Airways.

“We would send out another communication with regards to flight operations for the affected guests as soon as we have an update,” it said.

Arik Air through its spokesman, Ola Adebanji, also announced cancellation of its today’s flights, saying, “All booked passengers on the cancelled flights are advised to reschedule their flights for later dates at no extra cost.”

Azman Air via its Twitter handle said: “This is to inform all our Lagos bound passengers that all flights are hereby cancelled further notice.”

An aviation analyst, Mr Tayo Ojuri, told Daily Trust that the current nationwide protests would further hurt the industry as it is yet to recover from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is going to reduce the load factor and airport traffic a great deal,” he said, adding, “Those that need to travel for business, it is going to significantly impact on passenger travel and affect the financial standing of airlines.”

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