Flights Grounded As Lagos Airport Runway Lights Collapse

• BA had to reschedule all its flight out of London to enable it land at the Lagos airport in the afternoon, instead of late evening

Parts of the runway lights at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos collapsed during the week, forcing many flights to be rescheduled or diverted to the Abuja airport.

The development forced the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the aviation industry regulator, to downgrade the landing procedure at the Lagos airport from Category Two to One.

Also affected is a British Airways flight scheduled to touchdown in Lagos on Thursday was diverted to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where its passengers passed the night in Abuja before being flown back to Lagos on Friday afternoon by the airline.

Read also: Aircraft Narrowly Escapes Crash After Skidding Off Lagos Airport Runway

It was gathered that the unserviceable state of the runway lights made it impossible for BA, which flies a large plane, to land at the Lagos airport in the night. Other foreign airlines with relatively smaller planes may land.

BA also had to reschedule all its flight out of London to enable it land at the Lagos airport in the afternoon, instead of late evening.

The Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Nuhu Musa, confirmed the development but said the decision was taken for safety precautions.

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He however said that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had fixed the lights but there was a need for the NCAA inspectors to check the lights before an approval could be given for the runway approach lights to be upgraded to Category Two.

FAAN spokesperson, Henrieta Yakubu, confirmed the development but also added that the issue had been rectified.