A video making the rounds on social media has depicted the rowdy moment when passengers on an Air Peace flight from Abuja to Lagos scrambled to get on the plane.
The airline has now provided an explanation, blaming bad weather and passengers’ impatience for the rowdy scene.
The Explainer learnt that frustrated passengers, who had been delayed for hours threw caution to wind, and overwhelmed airline and airport staff to board the plane. Although the airline attributed the incident to weather-related delays and passenger impatience, The Explainer learnt that travellers who feared that they could face further delays decided to leave nothing to chance. They all made a dash for the aircraft, resulting in pushing and shoving, which was captured on video and circulated across social media.
According to the airline’s Head of Communications, Dr. Ejike Ndiulo, the harmattan haze and fog had caused flight delays on the day of the incident. He explained that in response to these weather-induced disruptions, Air Peace deployed three aircraft to Abuja to manage the backlog of passengers.
“Due to poor weather conditions, specifically harmattan-induced haze and fog, which is common at this time of the year, and to ensure that passengers continued their journeys with minimum disruptions, Air Peace deployed three aircraft to Abuja to evacuate all the passengers,” Dr. Ndiulo stated.
According to the airline, after approximately two hours of waiting, passengers bypassed normal boarding procedures and overwhelmed both Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) personnel and boarding officers, rushing to the airside. This led to a crowding situation on the aircraft boarding stairs, which was captured in the viral video.
“Duty managers and ramp officials then had to mount barricades in front of the motorised step to differentiate passengers on flights,” the airline explained.
While expressing empathy for passenger frustrations, Air Peace strongly condemned what it described as “misinformation, insults, and deliberate falsehood” in the viral video post. The airline emphasized that such incidents do not reflect its operational standards or corporate values.
“We appreciate your understanding and patience during this period and sincerely regret any inconvenience these delays may have caused you.
The safety of our passengers and crew is our utmost priority,” he said.
The Explainer recalls that the airline has been facing an investigation by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Agency over complaints by customers relating to price gouging and flight delays.
