‘Technical Fault Forced Air France To Cancel Flight’

One of the leading international airlines in the world, Air France Tuesday last week cancelled her flight from the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa to Charles De Gue, Paris.

The airline, sources told The Tide developed technical fault after boarding at 10.00 p.m. on Tuesday last week.

The Air France aircraft with registration number F-GKSJ arrived the Port Harcourt International, Omagwa on Tuesday at 16.00 p.m. and started boarding at 9.30 p.m. the same day.  But after the boarding at 10.00 p.m., the airline reportedly developed fault and could not take off.

The Tide was informed that the plane with registration Number F-GKSJ was suspected to have developed “Air Power Unit” (APU) fault which forced the pilot to off the engine after the boarding was completed.

Since the aircraft could not proceed to its destinations, it was learnt that the passengers were lodged in two separate hotels in Port Harcourt, Hotel Presidential and Novotel Hotel as recognised with international standard.

All efforts to reach the District Manager, Eastern Nigeria, Mr Yaun Gilbert on phone was not successful as he could not pick his phone. When the Lagos office of the airline was contacted on line, it declined to speak on the matter.

The already checked-in passengers of the airline on Wednesday were brought back to the airport, later checked in and booked for another aircraft of the airline with Registration Number F-GKXH.

The continuous stay of the aircraft at the terminal means more revenue for the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for its parking fee.