Virgin has issued a statement:
Virgin Nigeria airline has announced possible disruptions of some of its domestic flights from Lagos to Abuja and Port Harcourt, following the failure of one of its aircraft to pass rigorous standard test.
A statement by the airline made available to the Daily Trust in Lagos yesterday noted that the airline has withdrawn the affected aircraft from service to carry repairs on it.
The airline’s Chief Executive, Mr. Conrad Clif-ford, said: “The safety and security of our passengers and crew is the Virgin Nigeria’s priority. Following a routine inspection check of our fleet, we discovered that one of the engines of our A320-200 aircraft did not pass our rigorous standard check and we have therefore opted to withdraw the plane from service until repairs have been carried out. The problem will be rectified as soon as possible to enable the aircraft to comply with Virgin Nige-ria’s standards.
“We request customers to bear with us as we work extra-hard to reschedule and re-book as many passengers as we can on the operating services to both Abuja and Port Harcourt,” Clifford said, adding, “Fares would be refunded to passengers who cannot be booked on these flights. We have also recalled off-duty customer service staff to attend to the needs of our passengers who are affected by these disruptions at the airport. Virgin Nigeria would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”