Nigerians on an Air France flight were stranded in Lomé, Togo, after the flight was diverted due to inclement weather in Abuja.
In a statement published on his official X account on Thursday evening, Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, expressed concern about the situation.
Keyamo claims that bad weather prevented the Air France flight from Paris to Abuja from landing and that it was instead diverted to Lomé.
However, the minister voiced concerns about how the airline handled the matter.
He said, “I have just been alerted of a situation involving mostly Nigerian passengers left stranded at Lomé, Togo, by Air France. I am told that the flight from Paris bound for Abuja could not land due to the bad weather in Abuja this evening.
“The flight then diverted to Lome. However, the confounding situation now is that instead of bringing the passengers back to Abuja after the storm subsided, there are plans to leave them in Lomé till tomorrow, even when that same flight will return to Abuja tonight to pick up passengers.”
Additionally, Keyamo revealed that he acted right away to resolve the matter, including both his authorities and the airline’s representatives.
“After directing my Director of Air Transport management to call the country manager of Air France, I also personally called Air France Nigeria a few minutes ago and insisted that those passengers must be brought back to Abuja tonight or be treated in line with best international standards if they must sleep in Lome.”
