The pilot of the chartered aircraft that transported the Super Eagles to Libya has disclosed that Libyan authorities forced him to divert the flight to Al-Abraq, a substandard airport.
DAILY POST reports that the unexpected diversion to the remote Al-Abraq airport, instead of their intended destination in Benghazi, has sparked controversy between Nigeria and Libya.
While the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) accused Libya of intentional misconduct, the Libyan Football Federation (LFF) blamed a logistical issue, denying any ill-treatment of the Super Eagles. However, the Tunisian pilot, in a video interview shared on Pooja Media’s X handle, revealed that the diversion was unexpected and risky. He said his warnings to the Libyan authorities about the dangers of the diversion were ignored.
The pilot stated that the original flight plan was to land at Benghazi’s Benina airport, with approval from Libya’s Civil Aviation Authority. However, during the descent, they were instructed to divert to Al-Abraq, located nearly 150 miles (around 300 kilometers) east of Benghazi, and not even designated as an alternate airport.
He expressed concern over the situation, emphasizing the potential risks involved in such a diversion.
“In aviation, we have our flight plan, we calculate the fuel to our destination, so we have to avoid this kind of thing because it may make a breach to safety.
“When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorisation, they said no, it’s from the highest authority; you have to land in Al-Abraq.
“Everything is registered in aviation, we cannot hide anything, so I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them, probably I will be in trouble for fuel; they said it’s from the highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq,” he added.
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