Police impound five Air Peace vehicles over Lagos airport disruption

The Nigeria Police have impounded five vehicles belonging to Air Peace as part of investigations into an incident that disrupted airport operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The number of vehicles in police custody increased from the three earlier reported to have been towed from the airport.

The vehicles, identified with registration numbers AJJ 589EX, KTU 440EZ, AAA 831F, KTU 85FH and EPE 656HF, are being held pending the conclusion of the investigation.

The incident occurred when some individuals suspected to be Air Peace staff allegedly drove the vehicles onto the airport airside and positioned them in a manner capable of obstructing aircraft operations.

The Airport Command of the Nigeria Police confirmed that all five vehicles were now in its custody.

The command’s spokesperson, Muhammed Adeola, said the police had asked Air Peace to identify and produce the drivers who took the vehicles into the restricted area.

Adeola said the airline had instead suggested that the vehicles might have been driven by impostors or saboteurs and promised to conduct an internal investigation.

He said the airline had yet to submit the outcome of its investigation to the police.

“Yes, you are correct, there are five in our compound. When we started our investigation, we met with Air Peace and expected them to provide us with the drivers,” Adeola said.

He added that the vehicles would remain in police custody until the airline provided information that could help investigators establish who operated them.

The development followed an industrial dispute between aviation unions and Air Peace over alleged non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge payable to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

The dispute led to industrial action that disrupted Air Peace operations at the Lagos and Abuja airports, leaving passengers stranded and forcing some travellers to seek alternative means of transportation.

The unions had previously issued several warnings to airlines over alleged failure to remit the statutory charge and threatened further action against defaulters.

They also raised concerns over alleged restrictions on workers’ participation in trade unions in some domestic airlines.

Air Peace has reportedly attributed the airport incident to possible sabotage and commenced an internal investigation.

Efforts to obtain a response from the airline were unsuccessful, as its spokesperson, Efe Osifo-Whiskey, did not respond to enquiries.