Irate Arik passengers block Abuja runway

Angry passengers yesterday evening Thursday September 26th blocked the runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, preventing planes from taking-off or landing.

The passengers, who disembarked from an Arik Air flight, blocked the Abuja runway because the flight they took from Abuja to Calabar was not allowed to land in Calabar around 5.30pm for safety reasons - the runway lightening was poor, forcing the pilot to return the passengers to Abuja.

The passengers now felt the best way to express their anger was to prevent other planes from taking off or landing at the Abuja airport.

Arik Air spokesperson, Mr. Adebanji Ola, said that it was not the airline's fault that the Calabar airport was closed by the time the flight from Abuja got there.

He said,  

“The flight was delayed because there was Very Important Personality movement and there was also some weather issues, it is not the fault of the airline that the plane could not land there. We are amazed that despite the security at the Abuja airport, passengers were still able to hijack the aircraft and hold other planes to ransom, that should not be the case.”

Some people said the action the passengers took, was the only way to get the attention of airport's Authority,what's your take on this?