Turkish Airline To Resume Flight Operations To Nigeria

Turkish Airlines will resume flight operations to Nigeria on May 25 following the disruption in its operations.

Gatekeepers News reports that the decision came after discussions with officials from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), during which they addressed its request.

The Turkish airline said in a report “Due to actions at our counter at the Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport that jeopardised our flight safety and continued for four days, we had to cancel our scheduled flights to Lagos as of Tuesday, May 21.”

“Turkish Airlines, prioritising the safety and security of its passengers and crew, will resume flights to Nigeria on Saturday, May 25, as it has done since 2006.”

“As long as the NCAA and FAAN authorities take the necessary precautions and maintain safety of flights, crew, Turkish Airlines Lagos personnel, and passengers at the airport, we will continue to operate with the same sensitivity.”

Turkish Airlines said the decision was influenced also by a joint press release from the NCAA and FAAN, which assured that additional security measures would be implemented to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

The airline said Olubunmi Kuku, FAAN general manager, made a written statement, promising to implement unprecedented measures to ensure the safety of its operations.

Turkish Airlines said, “We want to thank the authorities for the assurance they provided, and we will like to emphasise that Turkish Airlines is the airline flying to more countries than any other in the world.”

“We adhere fully to the laws and regulations of the countries we operate in and act in accordance with international business ethics principles.”

“We have informed the relevant authorities that we will not be able to carry out the scheduled flights until our flight safety is guaranteed, and requested assurances from them.”

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) warned on May 22 that it would impose severe penalties on Turkish Airlines over its alleged mistreatment of Nigerian passengers.

The NCAA stated that over 300 passengers were affected by the conflict between Turkish Airlines and aviation unions, which led to the cancellation of flights to and from Nigeria from May 21 until May 23.

The conflict began on May 21 when the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) protested outside Turkish Airlines in Lagos over the dismissal of its members.