Lufthansa diverts flight to Cotonou, leaves 200-bound Nigerian strangers stranded

The pilot informed the more than 200 passengers on board that the Lagos airport was closed, thus the Lufthansa flight LH566 from Frankfurt to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos was diverted to Cotonou, Togo, and eventually Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

According to information obtained by Vanguard, 15 passengers going for Malabo and 15 passengers for Lagos were due to arrive in Lagos by 5:45 pm on March 3, 2023, before departing for the capital of Equatorial Guinea to pick up 15 passengers for Malabo.

However, given that the Lagos airport remained open at all hours on March 3, 2023, travelers headed for Lagos did not arrive until 2 am on March 4.

One of the passengers who preferred anonymity, said: “We left Frankfurt on March 2, 2023, by noon to Lagos and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea. This flight was supposed to be at Lagos by 5.45 pm. On getting to Lagos, the pilot told us that they couldn’t land because the Lagos airport was closed.

“He took us to Contonou airport and landed waiting for Lagos airport to open. We were there for almost three hours, during this time, relatives waiting for the flight were panicking. Then individuals were now making calls to relatives asking what was happening in the Lagos airport.

“It was then we realised that Lagos airport was not closed. We now demanded that the pilot should take us to Lagos. After much argument, the pilot told us, he was taking us to Malabo, to drop off the 15 passengers before coming back to Lagos to drop off over 200 passengers.”

“This was what the pilot did. We now landed at 2: 00 am. When we said we won’t come down on arrival at Lagos without the airline making a proper arrangement for us, the pilot threatened us and said he would call the police to evacuate us.”

Lufthansa management had issued a circular to the Frankfurt-bound passengers from Lagos, dated March 3, 2023, which stated: “Dear Lufthansa guest, Unfortunately, your flight LH569/3 March from Lagos to Frankfurt is delayed due to operational reasons. 

”The incoming aircraft has been diverted and to land in Cotonou (Benin) and then to Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) before reaching Lagos destination.”Lufthansa would like to sincerely apologise for this delay and any inconvenience it may have caused your journey. We have now planned an arrival of the aircraft in Lagos around 01:15 (it arrived at 2:00 am) and we would do our best to manage a quick turnaround.”

Meanwhile, the General Manager, Public Affairs, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mrs. Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, in a swift reaction, said: “There was never a day/time that MMA was closed. I will let you know if there will be any closure in the coming days.”

KLM, Air France, and British Airways are just a few of the airlines that will arrive in Lagos between 4 and 7 o'clock on the mentioned day.

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