Conveyor belt collision grounds Air Peace aircraft in Lagos

An Air Peace aircraft operating the Lagos–Accra route was forced to suspend operations on Friday after a ground handling conveyor belt collided with the aircraft, causing damage to its engine cover.

The incident occurred after passengers had already boarded, prompting their immediate deboarding and leading to flight disruptions.

Confirming the development, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, disclosed the incident in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“Passengers were already boarded when a ground handler’s conveyor belt hit the aircraft, causing damage to the engine cover. Passengers had to be deboarded,” Achimugu said.

He explained that the affected aircraft was scheduled to operate nine flight sectors, warning that passengers booked on its subsequent flights would experience delays or cancellations.

According to Achimugu, the disruption would impose significant financial and reputational costs on the airline, despite the incident being beyond its control.

“The airline will face backlash, refund issues, compensation, and other consequences for damage that was not its fault. It will also spend large sums of foreign currency to fix the aircraft,” he said.

He recalled a previous incident involving a bird strike, which Air Peace reportedly spent over $3 million to repair, adding that it took one month for the aircraft manufacturer to supply a replacement engine cowling.

Achimugu noted that the damaged aircraft was a brand-new Embraer E195-E2, fully booked until January 15, 2026, stressing that its grounding would affect hundreds of innocent passengers.

“Now, all passengers booked on its operations will experience either delays or cancellations,” he said.

The NCAA spokesman lamented that airlines often shield other aviation service providers from public criticism, opting instead to cite ‘technical’ or ‘operational’ reasons, while bearing passenger anger and regulatory consequences under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.

“Air Peace has suffered a lot of these technical issues through no fault of theirs,” he added.

Achimugu called for stricter accountability within the aviation sector, urging authorities to begin naming and shaming poorly trained ground handling personnel whose actions cause severe financial and operational damage to airlines.

He disclosed that the NCAA is considering tougher sanctions against service providers responsible for such incidents, insisting that airlines should not be unfairly blamed.

> “Passengers should be informed, most honestly, about the real reasons for disruptions caused by these unfortunate scenarios,” he said.

While expressing hope that adequate insurance coverage would cushion the losses, Achimugu appealed for passenger understanding, noting that Air Peace’s two standby aircraft had already been deployed to manage similar emergencies.

> “Even if they were available, their seating capacities are lower than that of the damaged E2. These are some of the behind-the-scenes realities that make airlines appear culpable,” he explained.

He concluded by stressing the need for better public education and transparency, warning that poor disclosure fuels mistrust and unfairly portrays the aviation industry as secretive.

Very Nigerian.

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