Passengers of one of Nigeria’s largest airlines, Arik Air, on Sunday protested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Their grouse centred around the cancellation, twice on Sunday, of their flight to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
Sources at the airport told The Eagle Online that the highpoint of the frustration was the second cancellation after the earlier one in the day.
Some of those who were on the first flight that was cancelled were said to have booked to be put on the second flight only for it also to be cancelled after the passengers had waited for several hours at the airport.
For the earlier flight, which was scheduled for 3:30pm, the passengers had boarded before they were told to disembark.
In fact the doors of the aircraft had been shut before the decision was announced.
It was said to have been occasioned by the crash landing on Saturday of one of the aircraft in the fleet of Overland Airways at the airport in Ilorin.
A part of the aircraft was said to be blocking the runway hence a wide bodied aircraft would not be able to land at the airport.
The passengers were thus advised to wait for a smaller aircraft for the journey.
One of the small jet in the fleet of Arik Air was said to have just left for Benin in Edo State and that the passengers should wait for it to return.
However after the aircraft returned and the passengers were ushered onto the tarmac for boarding, the pilot of the aircraft was said to have refused to embark on the flight.
This led to the protest.
The airline was said to have promised to make the trip to Ilorin on Monday morning.
It was at this stage the passengers also gave their own conditions.
Those who opted not to fly with the airline demanded immediate return of their fare and those who said they would still fly on Monday morning demanded for accommodation, with the cost borne by the airline.
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