Fire scare forces Delta Lagos-Atlanta flight to land in Accra

A Delta Airlines flight from Lagos to Atlanta was diverted to Accra after a fire broke out in the aircraft’s oven.

Spokesperson of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, said the incident occurred on Tuesday, September 23, aboard Flight DL055, which had departed from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

He said the fire was quickly contained and posed no threat to passengers.

Achinugu explained that the delay caused the crew to exceed their duty time, making them unable to continue the journey as planned.

The airline diverted the aircraft to Accra, where passengers were rebooked on alternative services.

“Some passengers were rebooked on the airline’s Accra-New York flight the same evening, and this effort was repeated on Wednesday night for additional passengers,” Achinugu said.

He added that the flight finally departed from Accra to Atlanta on Thursday, September 25, at about 12 p.m.

Delta Airlines also cancelled its inbound Atlanta–Lagos flight scheduled for September 25.

Achinugu said passengers had been informed in advance, but the airline still provided hotel accommodation and transport for those who turned up at the airport.

“To mitigate the disruption, the airline rebooked 23 affected passengers on Air France, while others were scheduled to travel via British Airways, KLM, and Lufthansa.

“The remaining passengers are scheduled to depart on the airline’s flight tomorrow, September 26, at 11:40 a.m,” he said.