Nigerians, others stranded at Murtala Muhammed International Airport after fire incident

After luggage belt malfunctions at the new terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos prompted airlines to postpone and cancel flights, international travelers leaving Nigeria were left stranded in Lagos, Cairo, Doha, London, and other destinations on Wednesday, September 6 and Thursday, September 7.

Officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and representatives from foreign airlines fought to address the traffic jams and luggage mishaps in the new MMIA terminal, but the travel mayhem persisted.

This is coming after an inferno caused chaos to break out at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Passengers and airline operators were spotted fleeing the building on Wednesday, 6th September 2022 as reported by Vanguard.

Foreign airlines moved to nearby terminal

According to Punch report, the chaos erupted after foreign airlines were abruptly moved from the international terminal of the Lagos airport to a nearby new terminal, which was inaugurated in March.

Up until Wednesday, when FAAN ordered over a dozen foreign airlines to leave the MMA international terminal for the new terminal, which was constructed by the Federal Government with funds from China, it had been mostly underutilised.

Festus Keyamo, the new minister of aviation, had mandated a move to the new terminal for airlines on October 1, 2023, but FAAN forcibly moved the international carriers on Wednesday.

The MMIA's baggage hall was partially destroyed by fire on the same day that FAAN abruptly relocated, forcing the agency to evacuate customers and staff.

Passengers and airport staff were invited to return to the terminal later on Wednesday afternoon.

The check-in system had to be turned off by FAAN because airline executives apparently disobeyed their instruction to shift to the new terminal at around 8 o'clock in the evening.

Around 9 o'clock in the evening, the airlines moved to the new terminal to resume the check-in procedure, but chaos soon erupted due to traffic, frequent baggage belt malfunctions, logistical issues, and other teething issues.

International airlines were forced to record delays of more than four hours due to the congestion at the airport, which resulted in many of their passengers missing their connections.

Flights from British Airways, AirFrance, KLM, and Qatar Airways that were supposed to leave Lagos between ten and eleven o'clock on Wednesday actually departed at four in the morning on Thursday.

Egypt also noted a delay of roughly four hours.

Passengers missed connections

Many of their passengers missed their connections in London, Cairo, Doha, Amsterdam, and Paris, according to airline officials who spoke on the record under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the situation.

Additionally, it was learned that Kenya Airways was compelled to cancel its flights because the crew overslept. Later, the stranded travellers were transported to a hotel in Lagos.

The rapid relocation of the foreign carriers was required as a result of the airport fire and other developments that affected the power supply, according to Mr. Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, Director of Media for FAAN.

But he said that FAAN was looking into it. He said, cases like this are not unusual, adding that the airport authority is doings its best to make it better.

According to a senior executive of a European carrier who talked with The Punch, the Federal Government must approach the issue comprehensively.

She said: “The conveyor belts at the new terminal failed to work from last night (Wednesday). After the fire incident at the old terminal, which was put out, the smoke was heavy and the terminal had to be evacuated.

“After the smoke had cleared out, light was turned on and everything came back to normal. I left the airport at about 5:00pm. Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM and United Airlines were already checking-in that time.

At about 8:00pm, however, FAAN officials came and asked everybody to leave the terminal and proceed to the new terminal to complete their check-in process. Of course, the airlines resisted because they were still checking in their passengers. FAAN switched off the power at the check-in desks, so we were forcefully moved.”

The luggage accumulated as a result of the baggage belts' intermittent failures. She said over 100 passengers who had connections on Kenya Airways' cancelled flight and Egypt Air's four-hour delay all missed their connecting flights at Cairo and had to be placed in hotels.