The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, has disclosed United Nigeria flight diversion that happened on Sunday was not due to bad weather conditions.
The minister said this while meeting with airline operators in Abuja on Monday.
On Sunday, it was reported that the Lagos-Abuja flight of United Nigeria Airlines was diverted to Asaba, Delta State capital, due to poor weather conditions.
The flight, NUA 0504, took off on Sunday from the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Terminal 2, and was headed for Abuja.
However, the pilot grounded the aircraft at the Asaba International Airport, and that caused some confusion among the passengers.
United Airlines had attributed the diversion to bad weather conditions, saying “A United Nigeria Airlines flight, NUA 0504, operating from the MMIA in Lagos enroute Abuja on Sunday, November 26, 2023, was temporarily diverted to the Asaba International Airport due to poor destination weather.”
The Aviation and Aerospace Minister, Festus Keyamo summoned heads of aviation regulatory agencies over safety concerns in the sector.
Keyamo, while speaking said, “It was clear that when the pilot was taking off from Lagos, he was headed to Asaba, not Abuja.
“Whereas the flight was headed to Abuja. There was no weather problem in Abuja. It was a question of a wet lease where the pilot and the crew were all foreigners, not Nigerians.”
