The fourth evacuation flight arranged to bring stranded Nigerians home from Johannesburg, South Africa, was delayed on Wednesday after a technical fault was detected on the Air Peace aircraft scheduled for the operation.
According to TVC, the airline suspended the flight after pre-flight safety inspections revealed cracks on the cockpit windscreen, preventing the aircraft from departing as planned.
Air Peace said the decision to halt the flight was taken as a precautionary measure to guarantee the safety of both passengers and crew.
To minimise the disruption, the airline has commenced arrangements to deploy a replacement aircraft to Johannesburg later on Wednesday to continue the evacuation exercise.
The replacement aircraft is expected to transport the affected Nigerians back to the country as part of the Federal Government’s ongoing repatriation programme.
Authorities apologised to the stranded passengers for the inconvenience caused by the delay and assured them that every effort was being made to complete the evacuation as quickly and safely as possible.