An operator of equipment owned by the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc yesterday rammed it into an aircraft belonging to Air Peace at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, thereby disrupting the airline’s flight operations.
THISDAY gathered that this was the third time in one month that NAHCO equipment has damaged Air Peace aircraft, thus raising the fear of sabotage and insider threat.
Air Peace insisted that the sequence of the damage has given strength to suspicion of sabotage against its operations by some unscrupulous elements in the industry and called on the relevant authorities to carry out a thorough investigation into the incessant damage to its equipment by the staff of the handling company.
A source who witnessed the incident disclosed that the damaged aircraft was an Airbus A320 with the registration number: A320 ES-SAZ and the equipment was said to have hit the aircraft elevator, which damage may have reverberated to the aircraft airframe that would demand complex repair.
According to the source, before the incident occurred, the aircraft was scheduled to airlift passengers from Lagos to Owerri for a 7a.m flight, while the same airplane was positioned for about 10 flights on the day of the incident.
When contacted the Spokesman of Air Peace, Mr. Stanley Olisa, confirmed the incident and said that the aircraft would be grounded until when it would be repaired, which would take some time.
Olisa reiterated that its operations were being sabotaged by some people in the sector and wondered if it was meant to reduce its capacity, stressing that the airline would lose billion of naira in revenue for the period the aircraft would be out of operation.
“This is the third time in one month our aircraft were damaged by the handling company. The aircraft is now grounded and we don’t know when it will be up again. The NAHCO staff had no reason to be where he was. He was not assigned to the aircraft and how he rammed into our aircraft is still shocking and that is why we fear that what happened might be sabotage.
“This is going to cause revenue loss for us as an airline. The aircraft was scheduled to operate several flights today (Wednesday), but could not do so, causing flight disruptions and delays. The authorities should investigate the incident and take necessary actions. We have made a formal complaint to NAHCO management on the development and will also report the incident to the regulatory authority,” Olisa said.
However, the Group Executive Director, Business and Corporate Services (GED), NAHCO, Dr. Sola Obabori confirmed the incident to THISDAY.
He, however, ruled out any form of sabotage from any staff of the handling company, describing Air Peace as its prime client.
Obabori insisted that its entire staff, including the airside staff were well-trained and certified by both local and international bodies.
He emphasised that the handling company would investigate the incident, stressing that its management would discuss with Air Peace management on it.
He also said that the handling company had filed a report on the incident, adding that the company had commenced an engagement with the airline.
“It is not possible for us to deliberately and maliciously damage our key customer’s equipment. We are doing the best that we can to take care of our customers. Air Peace is a key customer of NAHCO without any doubt. We share a very cordial relationship with them and we have been together all these years, we serve them diligently and professionally.
“Our staff are well-trained, accidents do happen. You will agree with me that aircraft do crash due to human error. In this particular case, our operative was driving to attend to another flight that arrived before Air Peace.
“He was driving towards that direction and wanted to support that operation, but he committed an error in terms of processes he was supposed to follow, which he didn’t follow and that was what caused the incident. The guy had a blind spot, which prevented him from seeing well. We will review what has happened so that there will not be a recurrence again,” Obabori said.
THISDAY
