The inadequate equipment by Nigerian airlines is having untold effect on air travellers in the country, as many of them are stranded nationwide.
In the past 48 hours, most of the airlines have either cancelled outright or delayed their flights without giving any major reason.
Some of the passengers who had hoped to depart an airport to the other could not do so as of the time of filing in this report, as their flights were delayed.
The major culprit in this act is Air Peace, which boasts of 67 aircraft in its fleet.
Some of the affected passengers from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, who were billed to depart for Lagos have had their flights postponed thrice in the past 12 hours.
The flight, which was originally designed to depart at 11am, was moved to 1pm, then to 2:05pm and finally to 7pm.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on Sunday, one of the affected passengers who simply identified herself as Mrs. Ibikunle lamented that she received the delay notice of the flight late.
She lamented that her flight out of Lagos to Kano on Saturday was equally shifted from the first flight of the morning to 9am without any apologies from the management of Air Peace. She explained that some of the passengers had arrived the airport before they got the information, stressing that no official of the airline in Kano was talking to them at the moment.
Apart from the Kano-Lagos flight affected by the shift, SaharaReporters also observed that Kano-Abuja, Abuja-Kano flights of Air Peace was also affected by the delayed departure and arrival.
The Kano-Abuja flight has also been postponed twice on Sunday by Air Peace. The flight was scheduled to depart Kano for Abuja at 10am, but the airline announced a three-hour delay, before announcing 4:30pm as fresh departure time, again.
Our correspondent observed that some of the affected passengers were loitering within the airport environment, even when they were unsure of their departure time.
“For instance, Kano-Lagos flight was changed from 11am to 1, to 2:05pm and now to 7pm by Air Peace. Apart from this, some of us going to Abuja from Kano are affected by the change in time of flight,” Ibikunle said.
“For instance, the Abuja-bound passengers who were supposed to depart at 10am, the flight has been delayed till 1pm and from 1pm to 4:30pm.
“Lagos-Kano on Saturday was supposed to be the first flight out of Lagos by Air Peace, but it was later changed to 9am. This has been the recent event by Air Peace and unfortunately, no one is challenging them.
“The Consumer Protection Directorate (CPD) of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) is not saying anything about it. No one to complain to. There is chaos everywhere. The way Air Peace is going was the way Arik Air started some years back and we all know where the airline is today. We need to change our attitude in this country.”
