A truck operated by the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) on Thursday rammed into and damaged an aircraft belonging to Air Peace at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, disrupting some of its flights.

The incident occurred in the morning during the loading of passengers’ luggage into the cargo hold of the aircraft scheduled to service the carrier’s Lagos-Uyo route.

A statement issued by the Corporate Communications Manager of Air Peace, Mr. Chris Iwarah said the door of the rear cargo hold of the aircraft was impacted and damaged in the incident.

According to the statement, the aircraft was declared unserviceable. The airline’s Uyo-bound passengers were consequently rescheduled to fly later in the day.

The airline said it deeply regretted the disruption of its Lagos-Uyo service and the delay the incident caused its passengers. It assured that arrangements had been made to take the affected passengers to their destinations.

Air Peace said it was worried that the actions of NAHCO and other organisations were beginning to give it a negative image before members of the flying public despite its efforts to deepen its on-time reputation.

The airline said the incident affected almost eight of its flights across the country, alleging that the incident was the third time NAHCO would be causing huge damage to its aircraft this year alone.

It would be recalled that a truck belonging to Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCOL) also hit and damaged an aircraft belonging to Air Peace at the Benin Airport in April this year.

Air Peace said it had spent billions of naira on such incidents this year alone, insisting that there must be an end to the development.

Officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) are already investigating the incident.