On Wednesday and Thursday, international travelers departing from Nigeria found themselves facing travel disruptions in various locations, including Lagos, Cairo, Doha, London, and other destinations.
This was due to baggage belt malfunctions at the new terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, which resulted in airlines having to postpone and cancel flights.
The travel chaos lingered as officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and foreign airlines battled to resolve the congestion and baggage failures in the MMIA new terminal.
The pandemonium followed the sudden relocation of foreign airlines from the international terminal of Lagos airport to an adjoining new terminal which was opened last March.
The new terminal, built by the Federal Government with loans from China, had remained underutilised until Wednesday when FAAN ordered over a dozen of international airlines to vacate the MMA international terminal to the place.
The new Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, had ordered airlines to relocate to the new terminal on October 1, 2023 but FAAN on Wednesday forcefully relocated the international carriers to the facility.
The sudden relocation by FAAN came the same day fire razed part of the baggage hall of the MMIA, forcing the agency to evacuate passengers and personnel from the facility.
Later on Wednesday afternoon, passengers and airport workers were asked to return to the terminal. However, at about 8pm, FAAN officials ordered airlines to relocate to the new terminal but officials of the carriers reportedly ignored the order, a situation that forced FAAN to turn off the check-in system.
The airlines later relocated to the new terminal to continue their check-in process at about 9pm, but congestion, frequent baggage belt failures, logistics challenges and other teething problems led to pandemonium at the terminal.
The chaos at the terminal forced international airlines to record over four hours of delays, a situation that forced many of their passengers to miss their connections.
British Airways, AirFrance, KLM, Qatar Airways flights, which were scheduled to depart Lagos between 10pm and 11pm on Wednesday, later left around 4am on Thursday.
Passengers and airlines personnel who spoke with The PUNCH described the experience as ‘’hellish.”
Egypy also recorded about four hours of delay.
Airline officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter, said many of their passengers missed their connections in London, Cairo, Doha, Amsterdam and Paris.
It was also gathered that Kenya Airways was forced to cancel its flights after the crew exceeded their rest period. The stranded passengers were later taken to a Lagos hotel.
Reacting, the Director of Media, FAAN, Mr Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, said the airport fire and other development affecting power supply necessitated the sudden relocation of the foreign carriers. However, he said FAAN was on the matter