The Tunisian pilot who transported the Super Eagles to Libya has clarified the events that resulted in their flight being unexpectedly redirected to the remote Al-Abraq airport, rather than their planned destination of Benghazi.
The redirection has sparked controversy since Sunday, when the Nigerian delegation, traveling to Benghazi for a critical Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Libya scheduled for Tuesday, found themselves stranded for over 16 hours after their flight was rerouted to Al-Abraq, a small airport primarily used for hajj flights.
In a video interview shared by our correspondent and posted on X by Sports Journalist Pooja Media on Tuesday, the pilot stated that the choice to divert the flight was not his decision but was directed by Libyan officials.
“The flight plan was to land at Benghazi, Benina, and we had the approval from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to do so,” the pilot stated.
“However, when we began our descent, they instructed us to divert to Al-Abraq, which is almost 150 miles away, around 300 kilometres east. It wasn’t even (listed as) our alternate airport, something which is not good,” he reiterated.
The pilot characterized the detour as possibly dangerous, referencing the fuel estimates prepared for the original destination.
“In aviation, we have our flight plan, we calculate the fuel to our destination, so we have to avoid this kind of thing because it may make a breach to safety,” he stated, repeatedly questioning the directive.
“When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorisation, they said no, it’s from the highest authority, you have to land in Al-Abraq.”
Refuting claims from the media that the diversion was his decision, he said, “Everything is registered in aviation, we cannot hide anything, so I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them, probably I will be in trouble for fuel; they said it’s from highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq,” he added.
The pilot observed that all pertinent communications and approvals are recorded and can be presented as proof if required.
He said, “The truth was we were going to Benghazi, and I can show you the evidence of the approval, I have it. But at the last minute, they changed their mind and changed the airport.”
In his description of the situation at Al-Abraq, the pilot pointed out the difficulties of landing at what he called an inadequately equipped domestic airport.
“There is no ILS (Instrument Landing System), no air navigation approach, no VHR (VHF Omnidirectional Range). We had to make a visual landing, which is particularly difficult by night with marginal weather,” he said, adding that the airport’s lack of facilities left them with “no second chances” if the landing had gone wrong.
The pilot’s experience in the area, gained from two years of employment with a Tunisian company, was essential for successfully handling the challenging landing.
“It was not an easy matter at all. When a pilot hears this, he will understand that it was not an easy thing to land under such conditions. Thank God we made it safely,” he said.
