An Air Peace flight from Lagos to Accra was disrupted after a conveyor belt operated by a ground handling company struck the aircraft shortly before take-off, forcing passengers to disembark.
The incident happened after passengers had boarded the plane. Air Peace confirmed that the airline moved all passengers to another aircraft as a safety precaution.
Osifo-Whiskey Efe, spokesperson for the airline, said the decision was taken immediately after the collision.
“A conveyor belt hit our aircraft,” Efe told reporters on Friday. “For safety reasons, we disembarked all passengers and transferred them to another aircraft.”
Read Also: US airstrikes: We cannot yet confirm whether targets were killed in Sokoto, says council chair
Damage to engine cover, knock-on disruptions
Michael Achimugu, director of public affairs and consumer protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said the impact damaged the aircraft’s engine cover.
“Passengers were already on board when a ground handler’s conveyor belt hit the aircraft, damaging the engine cover. They had to be deboarded,” Achimugu said in a post on X.
He said the affected aircraft was scheduled to operate nine flight sectors, warning that passengers booked on its later flights would face delays or cancellations.
According to Achimugu, the incident will expose the airline to refunds, compensation claims and operational disruptions, despite the damage not being caused by Air Peace.
“The airline will still bear the anger of passengers and the consequences under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023,” he said, adding that repairs would require significant foreign exchange spending.
He noted that the aircraft involved was a new Embraer E2, fully booked until January 15, 2026, meaning the disruption would affect many passengers beyond the Lagos–Accra route.
Calls to hold ground handlers accountable
Achimugu criticised poor training among some ground handling personnel, saying their mistakes often inflict serious reputational and financial damage on airlines.
“There is a need to start naming and shaming poorly trained ground handling personnel whose inefficiency costs airlines dearly,” he said.
He added that the NCAA is considering stricter regulations and heavier sanctions for service providers responsible for such incidents.
“Airlines should not be held responsible for situations like this, and passengers deserve honest explanations when disruptions occur,” he said.
Achimugu also appealed for public understanding, explaining that Air Peace’s standby aircraft had already been deployed to cover other operational challenges and could not fully replace the damaged E2 due to smaller seating capacity.
“These behind-the-scenes realities often make airlines appear culpable when they are not,” he said, calling for better public education and transparency in the aviation sector.
