Due to the suspension of flights to Liberia by a major airline in Nigeria, some passengers to Monrovia and Banjul are now stranded in some parts of the country, including Lagos.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, on Monday, our correspondent observed that some stranded passengers were trying to make alternative plans to travel to Monrovia.
Interestingly, some of them were Nigerians and they wondered why there was such a drastic measure to cut off some countries on the continent because of the deadly Ebola Virus.
Some airlines had announced the suspension of flights from Nigeria to Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Gambia, a move taken to curb the spread of the virus.
A major Nigerian airline had also announced the suspension of flights to Monrovia and Banjul as from Monday.
Only one airline in Nigeria operates commercial flights to international destinations.
It was learnt that some of the stranded passengers had opted to fly to Ghana or Benin Republic first, before connecting another flight to their destinations.
A Liberian, Mr. Michael Nelson, told our correspondent that he had been coming to Nigeria on a regular basis in the past five years without any problem until now.
“I come to Lagos regularly because of the nature of my job in Monrovia. I still believe there are ways of checking any form of virus without a total blanket on flight operations. This is so sad. I am trying to get a Ghana or Togo flight now and from there, I will connect to Liberia,” Nelson said.
A Nigerian, Charles Okoye, who has also been affected by the turn of event, was furious, lamenting that the development had affected his appointment in The Gambia.
An official of one of the airlines, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, described the development as a short-term measure.
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