British Airways grounds aircraft in Lagos over ‘technical issue’

British Airways (BA) has grounded its faulty aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, causing delays in its scheduled flight to London.

According to NAN, the airline’s flight number BA 74, which was scheduled to depart from Lagos to London, at 10.50 on June 19, encountered a delay due to a technical issue with the aircraft.

It was learnt that the flight was finally cancelled after 1:00 am, with passengers being asked to cancel their immigration forms and go back to baggage claims to collect their already checked-in luggage.

Speaking on the incident, Tutu Otuyalo, BA’s regional commercial manager for Nigeria and Ghana, told journalists on Friday that the carrier had apologised to affected passengers for the flight disruption.

Otuyalo said the airline would cover the costs of accommodation and meals for the affected passengers.

She said most passengers have been accommodated on other flights, while the carrier’s team is working hard to book the remaining customers on a flight as soon as possible.

“We will cover accommodation and meal costs for the customers,” Otuyalo said.

“We would never operate a flight unless it is safe to do so. Most of the affected passengers have been re-accommodated to other flights.

”We have been in contact with our customers to apologise for the delay in their flight caused by a technical issue with the aircraft.”

Some of the affected passengers, according to NAN, have been rebooked on available carriers including Virgin Atlantic and Delta Airlines.