For most passengers bound for the last two Abuja-Lagos flights by Air Peace on Thursday, the airline proved to be a major disappointment. Some of these passengers have vowed to avoid the airline due to their unpleasant experiences..
When the airline postponed these flights repeatedly in the space of 24 hours, many passengers feared that they were in for a prolonged delay at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Even when Air Peace officials gave assurances that they would fly before midnight, the stranded passengers were not convinced. And true to their fears, the remaining two flights scheduled to leave Abuja for Lagos on Thursday did not take off until Friday morning.
READ ALSO: Air Peace’s 2:15 pm Lagos-Abuja Passengers Still Stranded at MM1 at 9:15 pm
The first of the two flights was originally scheduled for departure at 2 pm. If the trip had taken place as scheduled, these travellers would have touched down in Lagos at 3:20 pm on Thursday.
However, Air Peace moved the time in this order: 3 pm, 7:20 pm, 11:40 pm and 12:15 am. When the airline had not started boarding this set of passengers at 11:33 pm, the affected persons knew the latest scheduled time and the promises were a sham.
Amid the complaints about the delay and demand for questions, the airline officials announced that the next plane would not arrive until 12:15 am.
These travellers only started boarding the plane at 2:14 am on Friday, finally taking off at 2:54 am and landing in Lagos at 4:04 am.
Passengers bound for the first of the two remaining flights passing through the boarding gate at 2:14 am
READ ALSO: How Air Peace Left Lagos-Bound Travellers Stranded in Empty Benin Airport at Night
When Air Peace earlier announced the shift from 7:20 pm to 11:40 pm via a text, the airline said the delay was due to “bird strikes on the operating aircraft”. The airline also noted that the affected aircraft was grounded, but its operations team was “actively working to salvage the operations”.
The second set of passengers, scheduled for the flight following the 12:15 am one, would also discover that their aircraft was still en route from Lagos and would not land in Abuja until 1:35 am.
FIJ learnt that Air Peace equally rescheduled this other flight from 7:30 pm, 8:50 pm, then 11:20 pm, then 11:59 pm, and again to 1:35 am.
The travellers were still at the airport in Abuja at 4:56 am.
IF YOUVE BOOKED ANY FLIGHT ON AIRPEACE TO ABUJA TO LAGOS OR LAGOS TO ABUJA TODAY, you better start asking for refunds! Asides this rubbish they wrote here, this is the current status at the airport. Flight P47129 is still stranded at the airport while they write this rubbish.… https://t.co/oJTuVrgWwX pic.twitter.com/k6RMJwVhmI— LOGOR’ (@_Logor) February 28, 2025
READ ALSO: Travel Advisory: ‘Don’t Book Air Peace’s 7:30pm Abuja-Lagos Flight’
Seember Ene, one of the affected travellers, wrote on X at 4:56am, “I’m on flight p47129 which is originally scheduled for 7:30 pm on 27 February 2025, and I’m still waiting for my flight. Air Peace denied me my sleep [and] my dinner, and I’m currently disorganised.”
In response to a statement issued by the airline on Friday morning, another affected passenger warned potential Air Peace travellers, either from Abuja to Lagos or Lagos to Abuja, to demand refunds and disregard the airline’s apology because he was also stranded at the airport as of 4:33 on Friday morning.
“Aside from this rubbish they wrote here, this is the current status at the airport. Flight P47129 is still stranded at the airport while they write this rubbish. Air Peace currently has flight times open for today, meanwhile we are still stranded at the airport all night. No jokes. All night. Flight was scheduled for 8:50 pm; we are still here at 4:33 am the next day! Believe this rubbish apology at your own risk. Be wise; don’t be like me. Avoid Air Peace,” he wrote on X.
One of the travellers on the P47129 flight told FIJ that they left the airport by 6:30 am and landed in Lagos by 7:50 am.
FIJ understands that Air Peace made no provisions for their accommodation as well. “We all slept at the airport,” said the source.
To compensate for the unpleasant experience passengers endured, Air Peace announced a 50 per cent discount on a one-way ticket (excluding tax) for any of its local routes.
This attempt to placate the furious travellers was met with disdain, as many preferred either a more reliable airline that wouldn’t alter schedules on a whim or a partial refund for their booked flight.
“So, what if I don’t fly Air Peace any longer, that means I won’t benefit from the discount?” one passnger told FIJ. “If they were any serious, they should have offered us 50% refund of our ticket costs.”
The post Hundreds of Air Peace’s Abuja-Lagos Passengers Sleep at Airport Overnight After Multiple Postponements of 2 Flights appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.