The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority NCAA at the weekend stepped in to rescue stranded Saudia Airline’s passengers at Abuja Airport
The NCAA’s intervention was to stave off what would have been a major embarrassment between Nigeria/Saudi Arabia Authorities.
On Saturday 10th January 2026, the airline ought to have flown the passengers from Jeddah to Kano, but had to divert to Abuja due to bad weather.
Investigations revealed that the incident was triggered by a force majeure which is circumstances beyond the control of the airline, as the passengers since Saturday were unable to reach their final destination until the intervention of the NCAA.
Director Public Affairs and Consumer Protection NCAA Michael Achimugu in a chat with swiftnews.ng stated that the NCAA had to intervene following complaints from some of the affected passengers.
He noted that following the intervention, the NCAA had to ensure that the passengers were catered for, hotel accommodation was provided and facilitated the airlift of the affected passengers to their final destination Kano, with an arrangement with some local carriers.
Achimugu also disclosed that the NCAA’s stepping into the matter was to avoid any diplomatic row between Nigeria and Saudi Arabian Authorities, as he confirmed that the Saudi Arabian’s Ambassador to Nigeria is abreast of the matter with a view to finding solution to the problem
Narrating their ordeal, some of the passengers expressed their disappointment over the airline’s poor handling of the crisis, as they were kept in the aircraft for over four hours,when it landed in Abuja.
The passengers praised the NCAA for ameliorating the situation.
They stated that they had expected Saudia Airlines to have made proper arrangements to convey them to their final destination without having to keep them at the airport stranded, as they ought not to have waited for the NCAA’s intervention to do what is statutorily required of them.
The passengers lamented that “It took the intervention of the NCAA to ensure we were taking to the hotel on Saturday after being kept in the aircraft for hours after landing in Abuja, and later airlift them to Kano in the early hours of Monday 12th January 2026, and poorly treated ”
Investigations also revealed that the airline could have stepped ahead in handling the matter, but for its lack of operational base in Abuja.
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