Domestic flight operations were temporarily disrupted in Lagos, yesterday, when ground handling equipment collided with a boarding aircraft at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
The Guardian reported that the ground handling stairs equipment, operated by Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc, rammed into a parked aircraft belonging to Air Peace, thereby disrupting scheduled flights on the busy morning belt.
It was learned that the incident was the third of its kind in one month involving the NAHCO equipment and Air Peace aircraft.
An eyewitness hinted that the impact damaged the elevator of Airbus A320, with registration number A320 ES-SAZ.
Spokesperson of Air Peace, Stanley Olisa, confirmed the incident, saying the aircraft was scheduled to airlift passengers to Owerri from Lagos.
He said: “This is the third time in one month. The aircraft is now grounded and we don’t know when it will be up again. The NAHCO staff had no reason to be where he was. He was not assigned to the aircraft and how he rammed into our aircraft is still shocking.
“This is going to cause revenue loss for us as an airline. The aircraft was scheduled to operate several flights today (Wednesday), but could not do so, causing flight disruptions and delays. The authorities should investigate the incident and take necessary actions. We have made a formal complaint to NAHCO management on the development.”
Group Executive Director, Business and Corporate Services, NAHCO, Olusola Obabori, however, ruled out sabotage, describing Air Peace as its prime client.
He said NAHCO’s entire workforce, including airside staff, are well trained and certified by both local and international bodies.
He said the handling company would investigate the incident and that its management would discuss with Air Peace to resolve the matter.
Obabori explained: “It is not possible for us to deliberately and maliciously damage our key customer’s equipment. We are doing the best that we can to take care of our customers. Air Peace is a key customer of NAHCO, without any doubt. We share a very cordial relationship with them and we have been together all these years. We serve them diligently and professionally.
“Our staff are well-trained, but accidents do happen. You will agree with me that aircraft do crash due to human error. In this particular case, our operative was driving to attend to another flight that arrived before Air Peace.
“He was driving towards that direction and wanted to support that operation, but he committed an error in terms of processes he was supposed to follow, which he didn’t follow. And that was what caused the incident. The guy had a blind spot, which prevented him from seeing well. We will review what has happened, so that there will not be a recurrence again.”
The Guardian
