Runway Light Outage Strands Ibom Air Passengers Months After N1.19bn Upgrade

Runway Light Outage Strands Ibom Air Passengers Months After N1.19bn Upgrade

Passengers on an Ibom Air flight from Uyo to Lagos were stranded on Monday night after a runway lighting failure at Victor Attah International Airport prevented an inbound aircraft from landing and halted an outbound flight. The incident occurred around 10 p.m., with passengers left without accommodation or transport. Ibom Air spokesperson Anietie Essienette said the pilots had to abort landing and return to Lagos after the lights went off on short finals. The disruption comes about six months after Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno released N1.19 billion for airport upgrades, declaring the airport ready for night operations in October 2025.

Key Points

• Passengers faced night-time stranding with no hotel or bus arrangement from the airline.
• A N1.19bn upgrade meant to enable night operations failed to prevent the outage.
• The airport's reliability for night flights is now in question ahead of Ibom Air's maiden international flight scheduled for May 2.
• Limited airline competition on the Lagos-Uyo route leaves passengers with few alternatives.
• Delayed luggage complaints from the same passenger preceded the lighting failure incident.

Watch whether the airport management explains the cause of the lighting failure and if the May 2 international flight proceeds as scheduled.

Sources: Premium Times

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