An Arik Air flight from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos to Abuja on Saturday evening was disrupted before take-off.

In a video shared by AIT on Sunday, passengers were seen waiting outside the aircraft, having been asked to disembark for a thorough security check.

The passenger who recorded the incident said a “fake passenger was caught and arrested on the flight”.

“It took us about 30 minutes for them to do the check-in and the boy that ran into the plane, a fake passenger, has been caught and arrested, and they said he will not get bail until he is properly investigated. So, they asked us to come out and do a proper check-in,” the passenger said.

However, speaking to TheCable, Adebanji Ola, head of corporate communications at Arik Air, clarified that the individual was not a fake passenger but rather a disruptive traveller.

According to Ola, the passenger attempted to exit the aircraft during boarding but was quickly apprehended and handed over to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) aviation security (AVSEC).

He said following standard procedure, the airline instructed all passengers to leave the aircraft, allowing for a full security check after which the flight departed for Abuja.

“On flight W3 735 from Lagos to Abuja on October 26, 2024, a disruptive passenger was caught while running out of the aircraft at a time boarding was on,” Ola said.

“He was immediately handed over to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) aviation security (AVSEC).

“In line with standard operating procedure, all other passengers on board the aircraft were disembarked, and a thorough security check was carried out in the aircraft.

“A second boarding was then called after the security check and the flight thereafter departed for Abuja.”

Ola said the arrested passenger was taken to the FAAN AVSEC office till the aircraft arrived at its destination.

‘DISRUPTIVE PASSENGER DEBOARDED FOR SAFETY OF OTHER PASSENGERS’

Confirming the incident, Michael Achimugu, director of public affairs and consumer protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said the flight, initially scheduled to take off around 6:52pm, was delayed due to the passenger’s behaviour.

Achimugu added that the passenger’s parents were invited after which he was taken away.

“The flight was supposed to take off at 6.20pm. It was supposed to be this time of departure. Now, it was not a fake passenger. It was a passenger on board who, due to suspected, use of hard drugs began to behave crazy,” he said.

“The airline staff had to restrain him for a while before deboarding him for the safety of the other passengers. He was taken by AVSEC to Tango City for holding until the flight eventually took off around 6.52pm.

“There was a 32-minute delay to the flight due to the unruly passenger behaviour.

“His parents were invited to pick him up from there. They came and took him away. The airline departed finally at 18.52 hours with 126 passengers on board.“

Achimugu reiterated that no fake passenger was on board and that the situation was resolved.