A group of Nigerian passengers aboard an Air France flight have been left stranded in Lomé, Togo, following a diversion caused by bad weather in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. The flight, which had originated from Paris, was on its way to Abuja when it was forced to land in Lomé due to heavy storms.
The situation has sparked outrage and concern, with Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, taking immediate action to address the plight of the passengers. In a statement shared on his official social media account, Keyamo revealed the details of the incident and expressed frustration over how it was being handled by Air France.
“I have just been alerted of a situation involving mostly Nigerian passengers left stranded at Lome, Togo, by Air France,” the minister wrote in his post on Thursday night. “I am told that the flight from Paris bound for Abuja could not land due to the bad weather in Abuja this evening.”
Keyamo went on to explain that the flight had been diverted to Lomé for safety reasons, but there was growing concern over the airline’s decision to leave the passengers there overnight. He said, “Instead of bringing the passengers back to Abuja after the storm subsided, there are plans to leave them in Lome till tomorrow, even when that same flight will return to Abuja tonight to pick up passengers.”
According to the minister, this handling of the situation was unacceptable, and he immediately took action to resolve the matter. He instructed his officials to get in touch with the airline, and also personally contacted Air France’s Nigerian office to demand that the passengers be returned to Abuja as soon as possible.
“I directed my Director of Air Transport Management to call the country manager of Air France, and I also personally called Air France Nigeria a few minutes ago,” Keyamo said. “I 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.”
At the time of writing, Air France had yet to issue an official statement about the situation, leaving many questions unanswered. The lack of immediate communication from the airline has raised concerns among the stranded passengers and Nigerian officials.
The flight, AF 939, was originally scheduled to land at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, but due to adverse weather conditions, the pilot was forced to divert to Lomé. Weather disruptions, including storms and heavy rainfall, have been a significant cause of flight delays and diversions worldwide, with the safety of passengers always the top priority in such situations.
