Again, NAHCO equipment destroys Airbus A320 belonging to Air Peace
…airline calls for a thorough investigation of alleged sabotage on its operations
An aircraft belonging to Nigeria’s biggest carrier of the moment, Air Peace has been damaged by ground handling equipment of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, thereby disrupting its flight operations.
The airline has called for a thorough investigation as this is the third time in one month that NAHCO equipment has caused damage to its aircraft.
The damaged aircraft, according to sources from the airside, is an Airbus A320 with the registration number: A320 ES-SAZ.
An eye witness disclosed that the aircraft was scheduled to convey passengers from Lagos to Owerri for a 7 a.m. flight, and about 10 subsequent flights before the incident.
The spokesman of the airline, Mr Stanley Olisa confirmed that the incident occurred in the early hours today – Wednesday, January 4, 2023 – at the Lagos airport.
According to him, the recurring situation could be sabotage on the airline’s operations by some competitors in the sector.
“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,” Stanley said.
NAHCO’s Group Executive Director, Business and Corporate Services (GED), Dr. Sola Olabori also confirmed the incident but denied any form of sabotage from any staff of the handling company.
According to him, Air Peace is one of the company’s prime clients, adding that the handling company would investigate the incident and make peace with the Air Peace management.
Olabori said the handling company has, already, filed a report on the incident, and is looking to commence an engagement with the airline on the incident.
“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, 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,” said Olabori.
