By Newsmata
In a shocking turn of events, a flight carrying mostly Nigerian passengers was diverted to Lome, Togo, after being unable to land in Abuja due to bad weather—only for the airline to allegedly abandon them there.
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) revealed the unfolding crisis on X (formerly Twitter), stating that an Air France flight from Paris to Abuja was forced to divert to Lome due to the storm. However, instead of returning the stranded passengers to Abuja once the weather improved, the airline reportedly planned to leave them in Togo overnight – even as the same aircraft was scheduled to return to Abuja to pick up other passengers.
Outraged by the situation, Keyamo said he immediately instructed his Director of Air Transport Management to intervene, contacting the Air France country manager. He also personally reached out to Air France Nigeria, demanding that the passengers either be flown back to Abuja the same night or be treated according to international best practices if forced to remain in Lome.
This incident has sparked widespread criticism online, with many questioning the airline’s handling of the situation and its commitment to customer care. As pressure mounts, all eyes are on Air France to see how it resolves the controversy.