Hundreds of airline passengers were stranded and delayed yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA2) Lagos following fuel scarcity, according to the airlines.

The most hit were the passengers of Med-View Airline who were billed to take off to Abuja by 4:00 pm but boarded at 9 p.m.

Sources attributed the development to fuel scarcity experienced in the Lagos and Abuja axis this week following the inability of tankers to lift aviation fuel known as Jet A1 from Apapa due to the gridlock in that end.

It was learnt that virtually all the domestic carriers had their flights delayed for between one to two hours because of the looming fuel scarcity in Lagos which was said to have trickled down to other states.

An airline source who spoke with Daily Trust said, “The development at Apapa has taken a worrisome dimension as tankers are unable to access the port to lift aviation fuel. For the past one week it has been a tug of war for Airlines to source fuel as the traffic snarls have become worse.

“This is what has caused the delay encountered by the airlines.”

Director of Consumer Affairs Directorate of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Adamu Abdullahi confirmed the development, saying the delay was caused by the lingering fuel scarcity.

There was no official comment from Med-View Airline last night as at press time.

But its Abuja-bound flight which was delayed as a result of the fuel scarcity eventually took off at about 9 p.m. (Daily Trust)

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