Investigations Show Lufthansa Was Informed Via NOTAM Of Repairs At Abuja Runway
Investigations show that, contrary to reports claiming Lufthansa Airlines pilots had to offload some passengers and luggage last week to achieve maximum take-off thrust because the crew was unaware of a damaged Abuja airport runway section, a report confirms that a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued.
Findings revealed that in addition to the NOTAM issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which manages the country’s airports, also released a message informing all airlines of the issue and the planned repairs to the identified depressed section of the runway.
The message obtained by our correspondent was issued on Wednesday, 23rd July, announcing the runway closure and scheduled repairs, while advising airlines to review their flight schedules accordingly.
The message stated: “Good morning, all airline operators. Kindly note that RWY 04 will be closed shortly from 10 pm tonight (24th July) to 4 am tomorrow (25th July) local time to carry out planned repairs on the depressed section of the pavement.
“Furthermore, all flight operations during this period are advised to be reviewed accordingly.
“Please be aware that operations have been constrained by the weather conditions and are guided by the forecast during this period.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused as we work to restore the runway to normalcy for safe operation.”
Additionally, it was found that FAAN had already circulated GPS coordinates of the depressed section on 21st July.
A letter from Thorsten Glaeser, Lufthansa Group Station Manager addressed to the Regional Manager of FAAN, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (NAIA) Abuja, REF “Safety Measures LH595/23 JUL” reads: “Dear Sir, As discussed with you, I would like to give you more details about the incident on July 23.
Of course, Lufthansa was aware of the valid NOTAM for runways 04 and 22 and the pilots were sensitized accordingly. According to the Captains assessment, heavy ran and 8 corresponding tailwind were to be expected on runway 04 very soon. He therefore had to adjust the maximum take-off weight for safety reasons to be able to carry out the flight safely under the special conditions. Unfortunately, this meant that not only all baggage had to be offloaded, but also passengers had to be excluded from boarding.
At that point boarding had just started and we had to exclude the corresponding number of passengers from boarding at the end. This caused a great deal of resentment, which required our full professionalism and restraint on the part of everyone involved, including Avsec. All passengers were informed professionally about the situation by the Lufthansa Duty Manager and passenger rights were provided.
The passengers were of course provided with rebooking, transportation, accommodation and meals. We immediately activated our hotel partner Continental and ordered their buses. Of the 46 passengers, out of the 42 were taken to the hotel, the rest had decided to go home 34 quests were booked directly onto the next available connections, the other guests either wanted to do this themselves or make refunds.
The guests gradually leave the hotel to take their alternative fights. All guests are entitled to their passenger rights and can be claimed via Lufthansa Customer Services. We thank you for your strong support, especially for having facilitated the successful repairs”.
These deflate last Wednesday that Lufthansa Airlines offloaded 45 passengers and all the luggage of about 200 passengers fully booked for the Abuja-Frankfurt flight, to reduce the weight of the aircraft so that it could take off from a shorter length of the runway, because maintenance was going on at the runway at the time, forcing the management of FAAN to cordon off that part, thus limiting aircraft from exhausting the full length of the runway before taking off.
Investigations show that Lufthansa aircraft was Airbus A330-300 with about 200 passengers and crew on the flight. On the same July 23, British Airways operated Boeing B777 at 0816HRS with 245 passengers and 23crew. Qatar Airways operated Boeing B787 at 1403HRS with 251 passengers and 12 crew. Ethiopian Airlines operated Boeing B777 LR aircraft at 1411HRS, 264 passengers and 14 crew. Egypt Air operated Boeing B737-800 at 1509HRS with 125 passengers and seven crew. Africa World Airlines operated Embraer E145 at 1305HRS with 40 passengers and four crew. Asky Airlines operated B737 at 1719HRS with 64 passengers and nine crew. Turkish Airlines operated Airbus A330 at 2145HRS with 261 passengers and 10 crew. Air Cote D’ivoire operated Airbus A319 at 1047HRS with 84 passengers and seven crew. Royal Air Maroc operated Boeing B737 – 0718HRS with 162 passengers and 6 crew and Air France operated Airbus A330 at 2152HRS with 215 passengers and 10 crew.
Meanwhile, FAAN has completed maintenance work on the runway and operations returned to normal since July 25, 2025.
