Bad weather: Qatar Airways permitted to divert Lagos flights to Abuja

Following the controversy trailing the negative effect of bad weather confronting international flights which have forced some foreign flights to be diverted to neighbouring countries, Qatar Airways has gotten approval to divert its flights from Lagos airport to Abuja airport following the menace.

The Doha based airline was said to have requested for permission to divert its flights from Lagos airport due to inclement weather which was granted by the minister of aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

While the minister said it was left to be seen why some other foreign carriers decided to divert to another country, he expressed concern about the discomfort being experienced by air travellers into and out of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport regarding flight diversions and in some cases flight cancellations which has been attributed to inclement weather conditions.

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While the minister expressed regret over the situation, he swiftly hinted of the ongoing efforts being made by the airport authorities to replace the old Category 2 Instrument Landing System (ILS) with the newly procured Category 3 ILS that allows for the lowest visibility landing.

In the cause of efforts, the minister said there was a malfunctioning of certain components, which, coupled with the unforeseen weather conditions, made landing at the airport difficult.

According to the minister, the procurement of the Category 3 ILS is in pursuance of the desire of the federal government to ensure the safety of air passengers by ensuring that aeroplanes can land with almost zero visibility.

His words: “We wish to assure the public and the airlines, that efforts are to return the system to full working condition and that normalcy of operations will be re-established in due course.

“On the diversion of incoming international flights to neighbouring countries, we wish to reintegrate that decisions are purely those of the airlines which we have no control over. However, it should be noted that those flights could and should have been re-routed to the foreign airports to which some of the flights have been diverted.

“In recognition of Abuja as an alternate airport, Qatar Airlines has applied to divert its flights to Nnamdi Azikwe International airport, to which the minister granted immediate approval. It is left to be seen why some others decided to divert to another country.”

The minister on behalf of the government pledged to uphold the comfort, security and safety of the flying public, promising that no effort would be spared by the government to achieve.

The minister on behalf of the government pledged to uphold the comfort, security and safety of the flying public, promising that no effort would be spared by the government to achieve.