British Airways has said it will compensate its passengers whose flights were diverted to Accra, Ghana due to the inclement weather in Lagos.
The General Manager, West Africa, British Airways, Mr Kola Olayinka, on Thursday, apologised to the affected passengers.
Olayinka said in a statement that the situation was as a result of delays and diversions of flights occasioned by the inclement weather that caused poor visibility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos as well as a number of factors outside the airline’s immediate control.
He stated that the decision to delay or divert flights was made by the airline’s pilots who were trained to handle such situations in consideration of the safety and security of the passengers and crew.
He said, “We regret the frustrations experienced and the disruptions it would have had on earlier-planned engagements of our esteemed customers.
“We would also like to use this opportunity to encourage passengers to send receipts of expenses incurred during this period to our customer relations team on standby to process the reimbursements and also attend to queries.”
Olayinka stated that during the period, the airline ensured that its customers were accommodated in hotels where adequate rooms were available, meals, refreshments, and transport to and from the airports were provided for their movement at the different airports in Accra, Abuja, and Lagos.
He said, “Regrettably, in this unique case, most hotels were taken up by passengers of airlines that were earlier diverted to Abuja. The direct result was the inadequacy of accommodation.
“To resolve this, we booked all 157 available rooms and accommodated 157 passengers.
“We also ensured the safety of the remaining passengers by accommodating them in a dedicated area provided by Sheraton where we provided meals and drinks.”
According to Olayinka, the Accra incident was markedly unpredictable as the delay lingered for two days due to the persisting weather condition.
He explained that the airline chartered a Boeing 767 from Euro Atlantic to convey passengers from Accra to Lagos, adding that a number of passengers however opted to make personal arrangements for their return.