The Federal Government has confirmed a delay in the fourth evacuation flight arranged to repatriate stranded Nigerians from South Africa after a technical fault was detected on the aircraft.
The development was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement issued on Wednesday. According to the ministry, the aircraft was unable to depart Johannesburg after cracks were discovered on the cockpit windscreen, raising safety concerns.
Spokesperson for the ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said Air Peace has concluded plans to send a replacement aircraft to South Africa later on Wednesday to evacuate the affected passengers.
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“We have a situation in Johannesburg, South Africa, regarding the operation of the fourth evacuation flight. The flight couldn’t take off because cracks were discovered on the windscreen in the cockpit.
Air Peace will deploy another aircraft to South Africa later today to bring the returnees. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience,” Ebienfa said.