Airline diverts Abuja-bound flight to Asaba, cites poor weather

United Nigeria Airlines, on Sunday, said its Lagos-Abuja flight was diverted to Asaba, Delta State capital, due to poor weather conditions.

The flight, NUA 0504, took off on Sunday from the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Terminal 2, and was headed for Abuja.

However, the pilot grounded the aircraft at the Asaba International Airport, and that caused some confusion among the passengers.

A user on X (formerly Twitter), @dawisu, tweeted that the pilot was given the wrong flight plan from Lagos.

His tweet read, “Nigeria my country. We departed Lagos about an hour ago on @flyunitedng to Abuja, and upon arrival, the cabin crew confidently announced that we’ve arrived Abuja, only for us to realize that we landed in Asaba. Apparently, our pilot was given wrong flight plan from Lagos.”

However, the airline, through its Head, Corportate Services, Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu, said, in a statement obtained by PUNCH Online, titled, ‘Temporary diversion of flight to Asaba,’ that the flight diversion was due to “poor destination weather.”

The statement read in parts, “A United Nigeria Airlines flight, NUA 0504, operating from the MM2 in Lagos en route Abuja on Sunday, November 26, 2023, was temporarily diverted to the Asaba International Airport due to poor destination weather.

“At all material time, the pilot of the aircraft was aware of the temporary diversion and was properly briefed.

“However, a wrong announcement was made by cabin crew upon landing safely in Asaba, creating confusion among the passengers.”

Uchegbu added, “Meanwhile, the aircraft has landed safely in Abuja following improvement on destination weather.

“United Nigeria Airlines remains committed to ensuring the safety of its passengers at all times.”