Separate advisory reports by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), have faulted the decision of Lufthansa German Airlines in offloading 45 passengers and the luggage of others last Wednesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in order to take off at the aerodrome runway.
Investigations by The Nation reveal that the airline contrary to the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency ought to have deployed a smaller aircraft in the route because of the repair work at the aerodrome facility.
An independent report by the two agencies suggest that Lufthansa German Airlines was notified about the status of the landing facility at Abuja Airport.
Facts emerged on Monday confirming that prior notice was issued on the status of the Abuja Airport runway repairs.
If the airline had stuck to the notice issued by the agencies , it would have deployed smaller aircraft to avoid offloading of passengers.
Investigations also reveal that the decision by the airline pilot to continue to use the bigger, which would require longer run on the facility to get thrust for take – off runs contrary to the NOTAM issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
Findings further revealed that, in addition to the NOTAM issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which manages the country’s airports, also released a message informing all airlines of the issue and the planned repairs to the identified depressed section of the runway.
The message obtained by our correspondent was issued on Wednesday, 23rd July, announcing the runway closure and scheduled repairs, while advising airlines to review their flight schedules accordingly.
The message stated: “Good morning, all airline operators. Kindly note that RWY 04 will be closed shortly from 10 pm tonight (24th July) to 4 am tomorrow (25th July) local time to carry out planned repairs on the depressed section of the pavement.
“Furthermore, all flight operations during this period are advised to be reviewed accordingly.
“Please be aware that operations have been constrained by the weather conditions and are guided by the forecast during this period.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused as we work to restore the runway to normalcy for safe operation.”
Additionally, it was found that FAAN had already circulated GPS coordinates of the depressed section on 21st July.
Experts commenting on the situation have voiced concerns over Lufthansa’s decision to continue operating with a large number of passengers, despite being informed that flight operations should be reviewed during the repair period.
Travel Consultant Mr. Botunde Dele remarked, “Blaming the airport authority in this case is ill-conceived. We need to ask a few questions. Why is it the only plane that complained, because we all know it is not the only aircraft that used the runway during the period?”
“Additionally, the statement attributed to the pilot claiming they were not informed of the depressed portion of the runway should be treated with caution. The pilot couldn’t have made that statement because any NOTAM issued anywhere goes across the whole world.
“So, for anyone to say, especially the pilot, I don’t think it is true, since Lufthansa Airlines itself hasn’t issued any statement to that effect. I know for sure that other international carriers with similar wide-bodied aircraft were landing and taking off from the same runway.”
An engineer from FAAN, who requested anonymity, disclosed that the depressed section had already been repaired and that normal flight operations have since resumed.
He said, “These are issues that happen everywhere. The section was depressed, and we took precautionary measures by first informing the airlines and then taking action to ensure that the entire length of the runway was fully functional. That has been done, and the full length is now operational as expected.”
While initial reports sparked concern about communication lapses, the emerging facts suggest that Nigerian aviation authorities followed proper procedure in addressing the Abuja runway issue.
With the issuance of a global NOTAM, a local operator bulletin, and the timely completion of repair work, industry observers argue that the onus may have been on Lufthansa to adapt its operations accordingly.
But, officials of Abuja Airport have offer clarifications on the circumstances leading to Lufthansa Airlines offloading 45 passengers and the luggage of passengers checked in on July 23, 2025 in order to take off at the aerodrome.
The officials said the decision by the German carrier had nothing to do the facility, but the technical decision of the crew.
Flights by other carriers have been on going at the facility without offloading of passengers and their luggage.
The response of the officials comes in the heels of earlier report suggesting that Lufthansa Airlines last Wednesday offloaded 45 passengers and all the luggage of about 200 passengers fully booked for the Abuja-Frankfurt flight, to reduce the weight of the aircraft so that it could take off from a shorter length of the runway.
This was because maintenance was going on at the runway at the time, which forced the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to cordon off that part, thus limiting aircraft from exhausting the full length of the runway before taking off.
But Abuja airport officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that other international airlines with wide body aircraft similar to that of Lufthansa also took off and landed on the runway under that maintenance condition and did not offload their passengers or their luggage.
They suggested that the airline might have taken a technical decision because it overbooked the flight and had excess luggage or the cockpit crew conversant with the runway condition at the time was changed, as Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued to that effect by FAAN.
Lufthansa on that Wednesday night operated Airbus A330-300 with about 200 passengers and crew on the flight.
Investigations also revealed that on the same July 23, British Airways operated Boeing B777 at 0816HRS with 245 passengers and 23crew; Qatar Airways operated Boeing B787 at 1403HRS with 251 passengers and 12 crew; Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing B777 LR aircraft at 1411HRS, 264 passengers and 14 crew.
Also, Egypt Air operated Boeing B737-800 at 1509HRS with 125 passengers and 7 crew; Africa World Airlines operated Embraer E145 at 1305HRS with 40 passengers and 4 crew; Asky Airlines operated B737 at 1719HRS with 64 passengers and 9 crew.
In addition, Turkish Airlines operated Airbus A330 at 2145HRS with 261 passengers and 10 crew; Air Cote D’ivoire operated Airbus A319 at 1047HRS with 84 passengers and 7 crew; Royal Air Maroc operated Boeing B737 – 0718HRS with 162 passengers and 6 crew and Air France operated Airbus A330 at 2152HRS with 215 passengers and 10 crew.
“So, you can see that it was not only Lufthansa that flew on that date. In fact, airlines that flew with wide body aircraft include British Airways, Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa Airlines and Air France. I have to recall that Lufthansa on July 4 cancelled their flight and on 25 they didn’t depart with all the passengers. Lufthansa departed at 0015hrs,” the inside source said.
Also, it has to be noted that the German airline did not issue any statement to indicate that it offloaded passengers and luggage because of the reduction of the runway distance but that was what it explained to the passengers, justifying why they should drop from the flight along with all passengers checked- in luggage to be airlifted four days later, on July 27, 2025.
However, FAAN completed maintenance work on the runway and operations returned to normal since July 25, 2025.
