Passengers, who travel to Ibadan by Arik Air but were left stranded for hours by the airline have shut down operations at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The aggrieved passengers have blocked the boarding gate of the airport and are not allowing  Arik and other airlines to board passengers to other destinations, Premium Times reports.


One of the stranded passengers, Saka Waheed, a civil society activist, said that at about 9:30 P.M that the aborted flight was originally schedule for 3.25pm. “Later, they came to tell us it had been changed to 4p.m. By 4 o’clock, they said flight would be 7pm. When it was 7, we were directed to enter a bus to take us to the tarmac so that we could board the plane and leave for Ibadan. “Although we entered, yet the driver later told us to get down. In short, that was the point we were told the flight had been cancelled, after we have spent over four hours at the airport,” Mr. Waheed said.

He said they could not also assess their luggage which had already been checked in. He complained that neither airport officials nor Arik Air staff offered them any explanation on why the flight was cancelled and how to get their luggage.

“Because of that treatment, we are not allowing anybody to travel out of Abuja until either airport official or Arik official come to address us,” Mr. Waheed said.