Medview Airlines Yesterday commenced the airlift of hundreds of London-bound passengers who were left stranded at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos after the carrier failed twice in its bid to convey the travelers to their destination.
It was gathered that about 700 passengers of the airline were to be airlifted on Tuesday and Wednesday, as the carrier had been able to secure aircraft for the purpose as confirmed by their media Consultant Mr. Obuke Oyibotha.
Mr. Obuke said, “We are completing the airlift of stranded passengers because our flight returned from London this (Tuesday) morning with travelers, and it is going back with about 300 passengers out of Lagos.“Also, a 747 aircraft is coming this (Tuesday) night and it will airlift over 400 passengers out of Lagos to London; meaning that by tomorrow (Wednesday), we are normalizing all these issues and reverting to our regular flight operations.”
The airline issued a statement on their websites saying” Medview Airline regretted the anxiety the misinformation may have caused its teeming passengers and assured them that there is no basis for alarm as the Lagos -London flight remains unaffected, We are committed to safety and currently working with EASA and NCAA to restore normalcy”
It said the first batch of passengers from London Gatwick arrived the Lagos airport aboard a B767 aircraft on Tuesday at 7.30am.
“The same aircraft is positioned to take passengers from Lagos to London on Tuesday night. The airline’s B747 aircraft will enter service also on Tuesday night with another flight from London, arriving Lagos in the early hours of Wednesday,” the airline said.
It was gathered that the flight disruption on the route was compounded by an accident at the Gatwick airport, which affected other airlines, and also the inability of the CAA to grant the necessary permits over the weekend for charter flights to clear the backlog of passengers.
This is coming as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria announced its readiness for the certification of major airports by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
