Lagos — For the second day this week, many flights, including some international flights, were canceled yesterday in Lagos as a result of worsening harmattan haze, Daily Trust reports.
The two domestic terminals of Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) were unusually crowded with stranded passengers waiting to connect flights to parts of the country.
Some of the passengers had just arrived from international trips but couldn’t proceed to their final destinations as no flight could take off or land across the country while many others had to sleep over at the airport.
At the General Aviation Terminal of the airport, all morning flights were canceled by Arik Air, Air Peace and Overland Airways while at around 3 p.m., Arik Air and Air Peace were about checking in their passengers for the afternoon flights with the hope that the weather would improve.
It was learned that Air Peace had to refund passengers for the canceled morning flights.
The flights affected were Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, among others. Many passengers were seen with their luggage departing the airport.
An Arik Air flight was said to have departed for Port Harcourt in the morning and later returned because it could not land as the visibility became hazy.
Unlike on Monday when some flights were operated to Abuja, the situation got worse yesterday as no flight had been operated as at 4 p.m. when our correspondent visited the airport.
An airline official at the Domestic Terminal 2 where Med-View, Azman, Dana, First Nations and Aero Contractors operate said, “It is worse today because as I am talking to you, we are unable to operate any flight today. We are still hoping that the weather would improve.”
The situation also affected some international flights as Asky Airline Lagos-Lome, Qatar Airways flights were canceled while others like Arik Air London and New York flights, as well as Ethiopian Airline flight to Addis Ababa, were delayed.
One of the affected passengers, Mr. Michael Adu said he just arrived from Australia but his flight to Owerri had been canceled.
Another passenger said, “I have been at the airport since 9 a.m. but it is so obvious the weather is bad. I am left with no other option than to go back home.”
By Abdullateef Aliyu I Daily Trust
