Dust Haze May Disrupt Flights in Nigeria Until End of February
Dust Haze May Disrupt Flights in Nigeria Until End of February
(Bloomberg) -- Dusty winds blowing in from the Sahara Desert may disrupt flights to and from the Nigerian commercial capital, Lagos, until the end of February.
Poor visibility this week forced carriers including British Airways, Emirates Airline, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise to reroute flights to Abuja, the capital, and neighboring Ghana and Togo. The problem was compounded by faulty landing equipment at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport, which prevented planes from landing, according to the Aviation Ministry.
Seasonal Harmattan winds, which blow from December to February, have reduced visibility across West Africa since last month. A new landing system is being installed in Lagos to provide a more efficient guide to aircraft arriving at the airport, the Aviation Ministry said Feb. 13.
“The weather changed and Harmattan just came all of a sudden,” said Bankole Bernard, president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies. “Visibility became extremely poor, but I am sure before a twinkle of an eye two weeks will be gone and we will have a safe sky.”
Calls to the spokesperson for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika seeking comment went unanswered.
At least five of Nigeria’s eight carriers have issued travel advisories urging passengers to check the status of their scheduled flights before arriving at the airport. Multiple flights were delayed or canceled for a second day on Friday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ruth Olurounbi in Abuja at rolurounbi4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Osae-Brown at aosaebrown2@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, James Cone
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