ronkebp: There is always an abuse of power in that country............So the first lady is in the airport? now that has caused the lives of over 150 people......[if it is true, she killed them]

Beaf: The airspace cannot be closed when a plane sends a distress call; enough of these lies. Please, you guys respect the dead.
The Dana flight was given express clearance to land immediately its pilot radioed the control tower in distress. Unfortunately, it disappeared from radar screens (crashed) a minute later.

Was the First Lady even due to use the airport? People, please use your God given intelligence.

Pataki:
Garbage In, Garbage Out! The only respect those that died from that incident would want, is that we know the truth! Who are you to tell Nigerians not to know the truth?!

Same balderdash being spewed by the resident bleating mad goat Reno Omokri aka beaf.

Why did the various local media news not give update to this incident? Whose interest were they protecting?

Why was CNN the first media station to report on this ugly incident?

Why was a distressed plane not allowed to land immediately?

Was the first lady not in Lagos on that sad Sunday?

Beaf: The airspace cannot be closed when a plane sends a distress call; enough of these lies. Please, you guys respect the dead.
The Dana flight was given express clearance to land immediately its pilot radioed the control tower in distress. Unfortunately, it disappeared from radar screens (crashed) a minute later.

Was the First Lady even due to use the airport? People, please use your God given intelligence.

frosbel:

Wow, you really believe this garbage news , if you do, I am worried.

What kind of graduates are Nigerian universities churning out these days

~Bluetooth:


Was the airport closed ? Yes or No ? I know flights used to be suspended when the president is flying which is abnormal and also closing the airport because of his wife is over-abnormal to me.

frosbel:

Wow, you really believe this garbage news , if you do, I am worried.

What kind of graduates are Nigerian universities churning out these days

Beaf:

Is pataki a graduate or a vulcaniser and rat catcher? What you see is what you get.
Foolish people believe foolish stories.

frosbel:

Bluetooth sorry to interrupt, but surely you know this article is a non starter, for goodness sake the pilot reported engine trouble and crashed while looking for a more sparsely populated place to land.

Common, you of all people

~Bluetooth:

A faulty plane hovering in the air for 2 hours ? This disaster may have been averted if it was not delayed !

frosbel:

You sincerely believe that a faulty plane will be left flying for 2 hours in space, common mate, common

The plane must have been gliding freely like a bird for good 2 hours

Pataki:

U are dunderhead! An irritating bum, disgusting to all forms of human senses.

A lowlife gerbil as you, will only have a say when Nigeria is cursed with that retardeen of a president. Village militant boy, feeling funky.

Olodo oshi!

frosbel:

You sincerely believe that a faulty plane will be left flying for 2 hours in space, common mate, common

The incessant closure of airports whenever top government functionaries are on flight within the country.’s airport environments has become a worrisome trend to passengers and airlines. OLUSEGUN KOIKI, in this report, examines the challenge it poses for airlines and reactions of stakeholders.

Very Important Personality movement, otherwise known as Presidential passage, is a situation where the airspace is shut to commercial and other aircraft when presidents, vicepresidents and their families are flying in or out of an airport. Government officials often cite security reasons as the underlining rationale behind the action. However, beneficiaries of such a privilege have in recent years been limited to the President, Vice-President and visiting Heads of State following alleged abuse by officials some years ago.

But recent events in the area of presidential passage at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja airports have brought to the fore how serious discomfort is being meted out to passengers. This, is in addition to complaints about the fears generated by security details attached to the officials on flight, [b]compounds the agony of hanging in the air and the delays in meeting up with appointments. Also, airline records have shown significant increase in total cost of operation as a result of extra fuel aircrafts burn while hanging in the air. [/b]The development, which has generated public reactions, has also made stakeholders question how the practice is being conducted in advanced countries.

At present, industry analysts say only United States of America, among countries of the world, does not practice executive movement because it has a separate airspace for such exercise. This, according to them, is because it has huge resource to embark on such. They cite France, United Kingdom and other great nations as countries that could not afford such a practice, despite their relatively big wealth. Just last December, a group of journalists, human rights activists and mourners were unable to attend the burial of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.’s wife in Auchi due to what the Air Traffic Controllers at the Benin Airport called .“Presidential movement. .” Because of the incident, prospective mourners who were eager to say farewell to Clara Oshiomhole were not allowed to land in Benin.

A particular flight carrying civil rights attorney Mr. Femi Falana; Abiodun Aremu of the United Action for Democracy (UAD); Louis Odion, a journalist; and Odion Sylvester Akhaine, a political activist and academic and his wife, had to return to Lagos after it almost ran out of fuel, as it hovered over the skies for 35 minutes but was refused permission to land. The flight had left Lagos for Benin at about 10: 00a.m, after delays occasioned by unfavorable weather conditions. It arrived in Benin City airspace 30 minutes after departure from the local wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos. After hovering in the air for 35 minutes the Arik air pilot told the air traffic controller on the ground that he was running out of fuel, but they were still denied the opportunity to land.

Just last week, an IRS airline had departed the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 for an early morning combined flight to Abuja and Kano airports. On getting to Abuja, the pilot had announced to passengers and crew members to prepare for landing, but few minutes later, the pilot announced to the anxious passengers again that the landing would have to be delayed due to what he called .“VIP movement at the airport..” The aircraft hovered in the air for 27 minutes before it eventually landed after the airspace was opened for flight operations by the ATC. This is a daily occurrence in the Nigerian aviation industry and airlines are losing millions of naira to the singular act.

In 2009, officials of the then Virgin Nigeria Airways (Air Nigeria) attributed the worrisome spate of air returns it had then to external factors, which included movement of VIP at the major airports in the country. The then chief executive officer of the airline, Mr. Conrad Clifford explained that, .“of late, it has been alleged that we have a worrisome spate of air returns. It is noteworthy that most of the air returns were as a result of external factors such as weather, VIP movement, and bird strike..” Recently, Dana Air also had a delay landing at the Abuja airport for 40 minutes due to executive passage, while other airlines also go through the harrowing experience at the same airport.

Industry analysts say that the psychological effect of keeping passengers hanging in the air for long, and the economic effect on airlines call for consideration. A passenger, Mr. Adewale Adetokunbo, describes the phenomenon as horrible. The Assistant General Secretary, Airlines Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Tukur Muhammed, says that though the frequency of the activities has reduced compared to the military era, the effect of the exercise is always terrible on airlines. He says that airlines will appreciate it if the time spent could be reduced.

A personnel from one of the airlines who spoke under the condition of anonymity said that one of the indigenous in its monthly analysis, lost over N10m to holding in the air due to either VIP movement or air return due to technical reasons. Mr. Chris Anyanwu, a consultant on aviation, suggested that a second runway is desirable at Abuja airport so that the president can use it instead of shutting the entire airspace. This, he says, will help the authorities to dedicate one to the local and the other to international wing. A former ATC, Mr. Sam Akerele, believes that the manner executive movement is being practised in Nigeria can make local airlines go under. He said that the time spent on the exercise is too long, calling on the Federal Government to make moves to review it as soon as possible.

According to him, a situation where the airspace is shut when the president or other .“VIPs are still somewhere taking cups of tea is not good..” He said the time spent is affecting the airlines, but that they are afraid to complain loud about it. The Aviation Round Table leader said that five minutes each before and after take-off is sufficient for executive movement, adding that anything beyond that would have adverse effect on airlines and passengers. He said, .“We reviewed the executive movement time during the IBB era when it was having much effect on the sector. Those days, they would shut the airspace even when IBB was still at Dodan barracks. I was part of the team that drafted the review.

But immediately the military left power, we were back to the old style. I think there is need to review it..” The former Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Captain Ado Sanusi, once said that the ripple effect of executive movement can last up to one hour due to other factors that are usually affected. A top source in one of the agencies, who pleaded anonymity, admited that the practice in the country is taken to the extreme, but that people concerned are afraid to raise the matter since it has to do with the Presidency. According to him, only little time is given to executive movement in other countries, in such a way that it does not have much effect on airlines business and passengers. The source said, .“Executive movement is not practised in airports like Heathrow, Washington Doles, Reagan National Airport and others in the manner it is done here.

.“Are you telling me you will keep Heathrow closed for one hour? A place where flight lands every minute, it will be chaos all over. A place where you see aircraft lining up sequentially in the air to land, imagine how the entire economy will be affected. I think our case in Nigeria is a carry over from the military era. It needs to be reviewed or else, we will continue to put the lives of the passengers and airlines business in jeopardy..” He also advised that such should be put in the NAMA.‘s Notice on Air Mail ahead of time so that if airlines are aware, they may not take off from their point of destination. However, he stressed that only the reduction of the timing will offer a lasting respite to passengers and airlines.

Beaf: I don't think anything can save Nigeria from these lockups, because there are pockets of extreme ethnic bigotry that make the Presidents security a matter to be taken very seriously.

We shouldn't be too quick to forget how he was openly warned that he would be shot by snipers if he laid the wreath for the unknown soldier. He braved it, but that shouldn't happen everyday. So until some Nigerians stop the shocking displays of ethnic hatred, we will continue to have our airspace closed.

The confusion was heightened by the fact that three years ago, on October 22, 2005, an airliner of the same airline did not get to its Abuja destination at the estimated time of arrival, and was later found to have crashed at Lisa in Ogun State.

Saturday Vanguard gathered that the plane took off in Lagos at about noon and was expected to arrive Abuja latest 1:00pm, but couldn’t land until close to 3:00pm.

Presidential movement was said to have kept the plane in the air for upward of three hours, prompting panic and frustration among passengers.

The pilot, it was learnt, was forced to bring the aircraft down to avoid running out of fuel which had almost been exhausted.

It was learnt that because of the number of the length of time the aircraft spent in the air, some passengers aboard fainted and were later revived after the plane had touched down.

Families of some of the passengers on board the plane reportedly stormed the Lagos airport to ascertain the true state of affairs, having waited to hear from their loved ones on arrival in Abuja with no success.

A source told Saturday Vanguard some top officials in the sector ran confusingly to ascertain what had gone wrong with the airplane until they heard from air traffic controllers that it had been held up in the skies by VIP movement.

oyb: i have beaf where i want him - see the muthafukig hypocrite

https://www.nairaland.com/613001/jonathan-locks-oshiomhole-out-benin

Beaf: The airspace cannot be closed when a plane sends a distress call; enough of these lies. Please, you guys respect the dead.
The Dana flight was given express clearance to land immediately its pilot radioed the control tower in distress. Unfortunately, it disappeared from radar screens (crashed) a minute later.

Was the First Lady even due to use the airport? People, please use your God given intelligence.

Beaf: I don't think anything can save Nigeria from these lockups, because there are pockets of extreme ethnic bigotry that make the Presidents security a matter to be taken very seriously.

We shouldn't be too quick to forget how he was openly warned that he would be shot by snipers if he laid the wreath for the unknown soldier. He braved it, but that shouldn't happen everyday. So until some Nigerians stop the shocking displays of ethnic hatred, we will continue to have our airspace closed.

Power show Jonathan locks Oshiomhole out of Benin By Our Reporter Sunday, February 27 , 2011 In an apparent display of presidential powers, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday locked out the Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, some of his aides as well as other commercial passengers from Benin City, where ironically Oshiomhole is chief executive. The President’s security apparatus, The Sun learnt, simply shut down the Benin airspace over what it called ‘VIP’ movement. President Jonathan was said to be returning from neighbouring Delta State where he had gone for campaigns for the forthcoming April polls. So, for over 45 minutes, after it got to Benin, the Air Nigeria plane, which left the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport at 8.30 am, hovered in the skies, unable to land. Running dangerously low on fuel, the pilot had to return to Lagos, amid hisses and curses by enraged passengers, many of whom had different engagements to catch up with in Benin, Warri, and neighbouring cities. Oshiomhole, himself, was returning from Lagos where he had gone to attend The Sun Man of the Year Award as a special guest and was billed to address a campaign rally in Owan local government area of the state. Oshiomhole, it was gathered, had left his hotel suite at Victoria Island as early as 7.30 am in order to beat the traffic and meet the early morning flight. He did not reckon he would be trapped in the air due to the now notorious ‘VIP’ movement. He and the other stranded passengers eventually took the rescheduled flight at noon. Even though Oshiomhole refused to speak on the incident, other embarrassed and enraged passengers, who spoke to The Sun condemned the tyrannical practice of shutting down the airspace in the guise of VIP movement. John, a chattered accountant, who was on the flight said: “This kind of uncivilised behaviour must stop. We are not in the jungle. How can you shut down the airspace because the president, vice-president, senate president

oyb: of course we cannot blame gej since this like every other problem in nigeria, was before his time

https://www.nairaland.com/220765/yaradua-suspends-domestic-passenger-plane