FG suspends Turkish Airlines flight operations to Nigeria

Acting Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority,NCAA, Captain Abdullahi Sidi has directed Turkish Airlines to suspend flight operations into Nigeria until the airline is able to use  the right aircraft that can accommodate passengers and their luggages.

The federal government order is coming on the heels of recent cases in which the airline failed to bring passengers into Nigeria together with their checked-in baggage. In a letter to the airline signed by Captain Sidi , NCAA expressed displeasure over the series of incidents which most times lead to disruptions of activities at the airport. He said the incidents had become so bad that most recent Turkish Airlines’ flights arrived Nigeria without more than 85 per cent of passengers’ baggage on board.

Sidi said : “Our airport authority had been facing serious crises controlling the passengers at the airport whenever they arrived without their baggage. “This issue had made passengers carry out several mob actions at our airport and it was a great threat to our airport facilities.

In view of all these, and a series of meetings held with the Turkish Airlines’ personnel, which did not yield any solution to this problem, the NCAA is therefore left with no option than to direct Turkish Airlines to suspend its operations into Nigeria until such a time when the airline is ready to operate with the right size of aircraft that can transport all passengers with their baggage at the same time. “If no remedial action is carried out by your airline, this suspension shall be effective from the 16th of December, 2019.”