Passengers of British Airways have spoken out against the airline for abandoning them in Accra Ghana after a fight diversion.
According to reports, some of the passengers claimed that British Airways who was to fly them to Nigeria had a stopover in Ghana over the inclement weather for two days after which it left them in Ghana and asked them to find their ways to Nigeria by themselves.
Although this allegation was denied by British Airways Regional Manager for West Africa, Daily Trust reported that Mr Kola Olayinka, one of the passengers stranded in Accra, who is the Head of Business Development for EbonyLife TV, insisted that the airline had abandoned them when it was glaring that it could not fly the passengers to Lagos.
He said:
“We were supposed to land in Lagos last Tuesday, but unfortunately, there was a weather issue in Lagos and the flight diverted to Accra, Ghana.
“We went to Accra and they promised that they would try the next day, Wednesday. We were put in a hotel and we went back the next day, but they said the situation didn’t improve.
“We sat at the Accra Airport, which equally had fog, but the difference was that the facilities were working perfectly as airlines were landing and taking off.
“So, the following day, which was Thursday, they said the situation had not improved and the pilot told us that it was not the weather challenge, but the landing aids at the Lagos airport were not functioning, which made landing difficult.
“The pilot said the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Lagos airport was not calibrated.
“So, by Thursday afternoon, we got communication from British Airways that we should go to the airport to reclaim our luggage because their aircraft had to return to London. I didn’t have any check-in luggage, but I had to follow my friend to the airport.
“It was at the airport that British Airways told us that they have cancelled the flight and we should find our way to Lagos. They said we should keep our receipts in order to claim all expenses we may have incurred. They said henceforth, we will be on our own as the hotel and feeding they paid for would elapse by that Thursday.
“They also gave us the option of returning to London with them with that aircraft or the regular Accra-London flight. What we realised was that because we were on our own; we had to take decisions on our own. So, we decided to come back by road from Accra to Lagos.”
According to reports, British Airways had sent a memo to the passengers informing them to make their arrangement on returning to Lagos.
The memo read:
“Due to adverse weather at the airport, we were unable to safely land into Lagos Airport. We regret to inform that due to the operational constraints, we have had to cancel this flight. “We recommend that you make your own travel arrangements to Lagos as we are unable to operate safely in the coming days. “If you wish to travel from Accra – London Heathrow, there are limited availability of seats to book on. Please speak with our colleagues at the airport to adjust your ticket, subject to availability.”
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