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Several flights within the country were, over the weekend, cancelled following the harsh weather effects of the harmattan on air-to-ground visibility to local pilots.
With various domestic airlines rescheduling and cancelling some of their flights in a bid to heed to the recent warning from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on the hazardous effects of the prevalent harmattan haze on aircraft, hundreds of domestic travellers were seen at both domestic terminals of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, hoping to embark on trips to their destinations.
At the Murtala Muhamed Airport 2 (MMA2), on Saturday, passengers of IRS Airlines, from Lagos to Abuja, and those of Aero Contractors, from Lagos to Benin, were seen sitting at the terminal with their luggage as their flights were cancelled. Flights of Air Nigeria, from Lagos to Benin, Maiduguri and Kano were also delayed. Passengers of Arik Air, at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), were asked to sit tight in anticipation of a favourable weather that will enable flight services. “I have been waiting here since morning for my flight with Virgin Nigeria to Benin and am yet to get the latest information though we were told earlier that when there is a fair weather we would be able to travel,” said a traveller at MMA2 who gave his name as Mr Okiro.
The dangers
The country’s civil aviation authority had outlined the dangerous consequences of the prevalent weather to include damages on aircraft, and loss of lives and property, hence mandating all pilots, airline engineers and various service providers in the sector to ensure that they abide by the prescribed rules guiding flight operations during the period. “All pilots shall obtain adequate departure, en-route and destination weather information, and briefing from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency prior to flight operations,” said Harold Demuren, the Director General of the agency.
“Pilots shall recognise harmattan haze as a hazard and exercise maximum restraint when the condition is observed or forecasted.”
When contacted, a ticketing and reservation officer with IRS Airlines, who did not want to be named, said that most of the travellers who requested for a refund were given back their fares. “As a result of the cancellation, which was necessitated by the harmattan, we had to return the fares of those of our passengers who insisted on collecting their money back,” he said.