20241211 141344

Abuja Airport Shut After Cargo Plane Skids Off Runway

Kehinde Fajobi

An Allied Air Cargo aircraft with registration number 5N-JRT skidded off Runway 22 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, temporarily halting operations.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed the incident, which occurred at 10:05 a.m. on Wednesday.

All five people on board were safely evacuated without injuries.

In a statement, Mrs Obiageli Orah, FAANโ€™s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, said, โ€œThe Airport Emergency Response Team is on the scene along with accident investigators.

โ€œThe runway is being cleared and is expected to reopen for operations as soon as possible. We would like to thank the aviation community and the general public for their understanding and patience.

โ€œWe also request that all speculation be put on hold until the preliminary report is released by the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).โ€

The evacuees were taken to FAANโ€™s clinic for precautionary medical checks. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to restore normal airport operations.