British Airways leaves London-bound passengers stranded in Lagos for two days
By Emma Ogbuehi
Hundreds of passengers, most of them Nigerians, who booked to fly on a British Airways flight from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos to the London Heathrow Airport since Wednesday night are still stranded in Lagos.
With no definite idea when the flight will leave, the frustrated passengers are threatening to sue the airline.
The British Airline flight number BA 74 was scheduled to depart from Lagos to London at 10:50pm on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
As at the time of filing this report, the aircraft is still on the ground at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
A ticket issued to one of the customers showed that boarding commenced at 8.30pm and the gate was closed at 10.30pm, two hours later and passengers were admitted to the waiting lounge prior to departure through Gate E55.
That was when the problem started as the waiting time became endless, with no information from the airline.
One of the passengers who spoke to TheNiche lamented that, “The airline lacked the courtesy to inform the stranded passengers of the technical issues until after midnight. The flight was finally cancelled after 1:00am. Passengers were asked to cancel their immigration form and go back to baggage claims to collect their already checked in luggage.”
By then, some of the passengers who arrived the airport early on Wednesday to complete the immigration formalities had spent close to nine hours.
Even at that, they didn’t leave the airport until about 3am when they were eventually taken to different hotels in Lagos.
The British Airways informed the passengers that the flight had been rescheduled for midnight on Thursday after another aircraft from London would have brought the spare parts needed to repair the grounded aircraft had arrived.
But that was not to be because before lunch time on Thursday, the airline emailed the passengers to apologise for their inability to travel again by midnight.
Instead, they extended the hotel stay of the now flustered passengers for another day.
The email which TheNiche accessed reads:
Dear Customer
Despite our best efforts, we’ve unfortunately had to make the difficult decision to delay your departure to London Heathrow until tomorrow, 21st June, due to the ongoing technical issue with the aircraft in Lagos. Our Engineering team are working hard to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We don’t underestimate the inconvenience this will cause and we’re sorry for the additional disruption to your travel plans.
We currently do not have a revised departure time for your flight tomorrow, but our teams are doing all they can and will be in contact as soon as we have more information via text and email. Please kindly refer to these communications for the most accurate information.
If you have missed a connecting flight as part of the same ticket, we’ll automatically rebook your onward journey. Please check ba.com/managemybooking or contact us where we will be able to help.
For those customers who have been provided with a hotel room by us, we will arrange to extend your stay for a further night.
Looking for help?
You can find useful information on your rights when a flight is disrupted at ba.com/helpme, however, if you’d like to talk to someone, please speak to a member of our team at the airport or call us on +44 (0)203 250 0145 where we’d be happy to help.
Once again, we apologise for the impact this delay has had on your travel plans and we thank you for your patience and understanding.
British Airways
Shortly after that, another email was sent to the passengers thus:
Dear Customer
Despite our best efforts, we’ve made the difficult decision to delay your departure to London Heathrow overnight. As we hope you have been informed, a technical issue was identified prior to boarding that required our engineer’s attention, which has subsequently resulted in the delay to your flight. Safety is our highest priority, and we would never operate a flight unless it is safe to do so. Thank you for your patience during this time.
We currently do not have a revised departure time for your flight. Our teams are doing all they can and will be in contact as soon as we have this information. Please visit ba.com/travel/flightstatus for the most up-to-date information.
Need a place to sleep?
If you need a place to sleep, we will look to arrange a hotel room, meals and transportation for you. Please speak to one of our team members who will be able to arrange this.
You are able to claim reasonable costs for any essential items you may require overnight. We’ll also cover the cost up to £25 for telephone costs/internet access. Don’t forget to keep your receipts and upload these here. We’ll always endeavour to process any requests for expense refunds as quickly as possible and you’ll receive confirmation when we are paying the amount into your account.
Looking for help?
You can find useful information at ba.com/helpme, however, if you’d like to talk to someone, please speak to a member of our team at the airport or call us on +44 (0)203 250 0145 where we’d be happy to help.
For information on your rights when a flight is disrupted, please visit ba.com/helpme.
Once again, we apologise for any impact this delay has had on your travel plans and we thank you for your patience and understanding.
British Airways
On Friday morning, the airline sent a message through the hotel, asking passengers to get ready for pick up after breakfast at 9am to the airport, without confirming whether the problem that grounded the aircraft has finally been rectified.
But as at 10am, none of the buses had come to convey the passengers to the airport.
Some of the passengers who spoke to TheNiche lamented their ordeal.
Agonising over the lack of clarity concerning the state of the aircraft, they suspect that the attempt to take them back to the airport has more to do with BA running away from hotel bills.
“Since they know that checkout time is 12noon, asking us to leave is simply an attempt not to incur further hotel bills. They are being smart by half. Assuming the flight leaves tonight, it will still be around midnight. So, they want us to sit at the airport from 9am to 12 midnight,” one of the passengers lamented.
For another passenger who is actually travelling to the U.S., the fallout is unquantifiable.
“I am actually travelling to the U.S. where I live and I have a critical appointment in the U.S. today. Now, I have missed that appointment. Who will compensate me for that?
“While we appreciate the need to put the aircraft in order to avoid a crash, the whole thing has been chaotic and unprofessional. BA has no regard to passengers’ jobs, businesses, and needs. Some of the passengers are on medical trip with appointments already secured. So, what do you tell them?
“Meanwhile, the passengers are left high and dry without knowing when they are getting to their destinations. Couldn’t they have arranged to bring another aircraft to lift us while servicing the one that is grounded here? Would they have done this to Americans or Europeans? The answer is no!
“Imagine if this was an Air Peace aircraft in London, the entire British media would have been screaming by now. But this is not over yet. We will look at the option of suing BA individually and collectively at the end of the day. This impunity must stop.”