*First batch of Nigerian returness from s South Africa disembarking from Air Peace Aircraft at the cargo and hajj terminal of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on September 11, 2019.

 

The second batch of 320 Nigerian evacuees from South Africa owing to xenophobic attacks suffered a hitch on Tuesday following the delay in granting landing permit to Air Peace.

The flight was expected to arrive in Lagos 7.00p.m on Tuesday.

Consequently, the evacuees will be airlifted on tomorrow Wednesday, September 18 because Air Peace flight scheduled to airlift them was granted a late landing permit.

NewsGazette gathered that the returnees will arrive at the cargo and hajj terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos around 5am.

The chairman and chief executive officer of Air Peace, Mr. Allen Onyema had said that the aircraft was supposed to have departed Lagos for South Africa at 1.00am but was denied landing permit by the South African authorities.

“We did not take off at 1:00 am as scheduled because South African authorities are yet to give us a landing permit.

“We are hopeful that they will give us the permit. Our crew waited till 3:00 am; but when the permit did not come, they went back to the hotel.

Later, the Nigerian consul general in Johannesburg, Mr. Godwin Adama, confirmed that the airline had received the permit and is continuing the evacuation process.

It would be recalled that Air Peace had, on September 11, evacuated the first batch of 187 Nigerians from South Africa.