This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Adebanji Ola, Communications Manager of the airline while reacting to viral videos of some of its passengers lamenting being left stranded at the airport on that day.
Nigerian airline company, Arik Air has said the cause of the cancellation of its flight service from Port Harcourt to Lagos on April 2, 2024 was due to bad weather.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Adebanji Ola, Communications Manager of the airline while reacting to viral videos of some of its passengers lamenting being left stranded at the airport on that day.
According to the airline’s statement, the flight W3 744 (Lagos to Port Harcourt) was forced to make an air return due to adverse weather conditions, specifically heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in Port Harcourt.
The statement added that the airline eventually cancelled both the Lagos-Port Harcourt (W3 744) and Port Harcourt-Lagos (W3 745) flights.
According to him, at the time of the cancellation, banking facilities at the airport had closed, making funds unfeasible.
The statement reads: “However, passengers were promptly briefed on the situation and advised to return the following day for accommodation on available flights.
“On Wednesday, April 3, all the affected passengers from both Lagos and Port Harcourt were successfully accommodated on available morning and evening flights.
“No single passenger was left stranded at Port Harcourt Airport,” he said.
“We maintain a strict policy to avoid flying in inclement weather conditions, which necessitated cancellation of the flights,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, in the videos seen by SaharaReporters, one of the frustrated passengers is heard narrating how he was asked to pay the sum of N2million to rebook four tickets after the cancellation of the flight by Arik Air management.
He said the airline did not tender any apology or give any justification for the cancellation of the flight.