[SimonS1]

Anyone remember that documentary about 20 years ago with some Dutch guy fighting against the odds to keep the place moving? The Nigerian High Commissioner tried to get Channel 4 to pull it as they looked like complete buffoons.

Well seems like nothing has changed….

https://www.aeroinside.com/15209/british-airways-b773-at-lagos-on-dec-30th-2020-multiple-bird-strikes

A ground observer reported the crew declared PAN PAN and radioed multiple times without emergency services responding. 11 minutes after landing 2 firemen walked out with portable fire extinguishers, a fire truck arrived about 16 minutes after landing. It was established that hydraulic fluid was dripping onto the hot brakes of the main landing gear causing the smoke.

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LuganoPirate, Johnnyg

[cwoodward]

From a communication to the AV Herald by a west African resident
“Considering the usual standard of service in west Africa, we should be just thankful they actually turned up at all.”
Apparently the sort of disgustful situation is the norm in most west African airports

A telling tail from a BBC reporter.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39979814

1 user thanked author for this post.

LuganoPirate

[DavidSmith2]

[postquote quote=1087578]

Until this year, I was a regular traveller to a number of West African airports from my base in Accra. This did not include Lagos but it did include Abuja. It also included Banjul, the subject of the BBC article. It is worth noting that a lot has changed in terms of connectivity in the region since that 2017 article, including the launch of at least two new airlines (Asky, base in Togo, and Africa World based in Accra). As a result, there are daily flights from Accra to Banjul, stopping off either in Freetown or in Monrovia. Total journey is 5 hours (2 hours to Monrovia, an hour on the tarmac, then 2 hours to Banjul). In my experience it has been reliable on the 4 or 5 occasions I have used it.

On the safety aspect, I have less positive news to report. Fortunately I have no direct experience of any serious emergency but certainly the facilities at many airports are poor and, although I cannot state with any certainty that the staff are undertrained, this is certainly my experience in other areas of the airport, including security staff and other airside personnel. The one notable exception I am aware of is the airport in Accra, which I have toured in some detail with airport staff. Their emergency response teams seem well-drilled, reasonably well-equipped and motivated. I hope the same applies elsewhere, but I am not overly optimistic.

[Author]

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