Posted by Sade Williams
Arik Air said it has reported incidents involving two of its aircraft on Sunday, March 18, 2018 to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
This, the airline said is in line with standard operating procedure and the airline’s high safety standards.
The first incident involved a Boeing 737-700 marked 5N-MJJ which was bumped into by the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) step on the ramp at MMA2.
The aircraft, which was scheduled to operate W3 744 (Lagos-Port Harcourt), had its left side leading edge of horizontal stabilizer damaged.
Another aircraft was provided immediately for the Port-Harcourt bound passengers.
The airline’s engineers later fixed the damaged aircraft which has since returned to service.
In the second incident, the airline’s Bombardier CRJ900 marked 5N-JEB, operating Owerri-Lagos flight has been grounded at the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri as a result of technical issue on ground at the airport during pre-departure procedure.
The airline in a statement signed by its spokesman, Ola Adebanji, said a relief aircraft was immediately sent to Owerri to take the already checked in passengers to Lagos with minimum delay.
“We apologise to our customers on the flight for the inconveniences they might have experienced as a result of the incident. We remain committed to our safety policy, high operating standard and customer service”, he said.