Abuja-bound passengers ‘stranded’ in Chad after Air France flight disruption

Nigerian passengers on an Air France flight from Paris to Abuja are currently stranded in Chad following a flight disruption.

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, disclosed this in a post on his X page on Saturday. 

In a video shared by Keyamo, the Air France airline passengers called on the minister to “do justice to this as you have always done”.

Speaking on the matter, the minister said the aircraft, which had earlier stopped in Chad to drop off some passengers, left the Nigerian travellers stranded.

He called on the appropriate regulators to probe the airline concerning the incident.

“It has come to my attention that some Nigerians on an Air France flight from Paris to Abuja are presently stranded in Chad, from where the flight earlier dropped some passengers,” the statement reads.

“I have immediately directed the Consumer Protection Department of NCAA to swing into action and engage Air France. We shall inform everyone of the outcome soon.” 

Keyamo urged Air France to immediately issue a statement on the fate of the Nigerians.

On May 22, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said over 300 passengers were affected by the discord involving the Turkish Airlines and aviation unions, as the carrier cancelled flights in and out of Nigeria from May 21 until May 23.

Following the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) action, passengers of Turkish Airlines were stranded at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, as the airline failed to airlift them to Istanbul.