According to some of the affected passengers, the flight was initially scheduled to depart London, United Kingdom at 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, but airline officials first delayed it to 10:20 p.m., and then provided no further updates...READ FULL; FROM THE SOURCE.
Passengers bound for Nigeria on an Air Peace flight from London Heathrow reportedly grew frustrated and confrontational after repeated delays left them stranded overnight.
According to some of the affected passengers, the flight was initially scheduled to depart London, United Kingdom at 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, but airline officials first delayed it to 10:20 p.m., and then provided no further updates.
Frustrations among passengers later escalated, with some reportedly confronting the airline’s operational manager.
“Passengers almost beat up the operational manager at London Heathrow Airport on Saturday,” one of the passengers said.
“We were scheduled to depart London at 21:20 (9.20 p.m.) but they moved it and said we would depart at 22:20 (10.20 p.m.). But around that time, they stopped responding to us. That was when passengers became enraged.”
Passengers were eventually evacuated to a nearby hotel for the night. Later, Air Peace reportedly sent an official email apologising for the disruption and announcing a new departure time of 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
“Around 3 a.m., we were evacuated to a hotel. They later sent an email apologising, saying that the time to leave is now 15:00 (3.00 p.m.) on Sunday,” one of the passengers said.
Travellers described the experience as chaotic, with long periods of silence from airline staff fueling confusion and anger.
An Air Peace official, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributed the delay to a technical issue, adding that the airline provided hotel accommodations for passengers and acted in accordance with international standards.
The official said, “The passengers were informed about the technical issue and we provided all of them hotel accommodations. All of them were provided information that XYZ service will not be operating due to a technical issue and we provided them based on NCAA (Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority) directive, customer protections and of course customer regulatory service.
“We provided them hotel accommodations and of course people also had the opportunity to fly on another service. We have given them the opportunity to reschedule and we have also given them the opportunity to stay in hotel while the flight will be moved to another time.
“So if you are saying that the people are agitated, I think that is a wrong narrative that is being pushed out. I can confirm that any information that we left them stranded or anything like that is wrong. I don’t know where the narrative that we didn’t communicate to them came from.”
“If it was so, how did they get hotel accommodations? How did people know that the flight was not flying? So I think that is an attempt to cause problems because passengers were officially informed,” the official added.
In March, Air Peace was summoned to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) headquarters for an urgent meeting concerning multiple unexplained disruptions affecting passengers, SaharaReporters has reported.
The directive came after complaints from travellers on the Heathrow-Abuja flight, who were reportedly rerouted via Gatwick-Lagos-Abuja and subsequently stranded in Lagos due to an air return reportedly caused by a cracked windshield.
Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at NCAA, confirmed that the situation had “activated the Consumer Protection Department of the NCAA.”
He explained that the combination of flight disruptions, delayed refunds, unprocessed compensation, and unmet passenger needs prompted the regulatory authority to intervene.
The NCAA emphasised that a thorough investigation into the incidents would be conducted to ensure passenger rights and operational standards are upheld.
“Appropriate action will be taken as usual based on the facts of the incident as enshrined in Part 19 of the NCAA regulations 2023,” Achimugu added.
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