Flight operations at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, were disrupted on Friday due to a ground handling accident involving a newly acquired Air Peace Embraer 195-E2 aircraft.

The aircraft, registered 5N-BYH, was scheduled to operate Flight P47750 from Lagos to Accra when a luggage conveyor belt truck operated by the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) struck one of its engines while on the ground. The incident occurred after passengers had completed boarding.

The collision caused visible damage to the aircraft’s thrust reverser cowling, part of the engine casing, prompting an immediate safety inspection and grounding of the plane. Consequently, approximately 150 passengers were asked to disembark, leading to delays and the cancellation of several other scheduled flights.

A source revealed that the aircraft was assigned to operate nine flight sectors for the day, all of which were affected. Many passengers were either rebooked on later flights or left stranded. The source also highlighted the financial impact, noting that engine repairs are typically expensive. He recalled that a similar cowling damage earlier this year reportedly cost an airline around $3.5 million to fix.

No injuries were reported, and investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the collision. Efforts to obtain comments from NAHCO were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Michael Achimugu, confirmed that the incident disrupted Air Peace’s Lagos–Accra service. In a post on X, he explained that the damage occurred after passengers had boarded, necessitating deboarding and delaying the aircraft’s operations.

Achimugu noted that the affected aircraft was scheduled to operate nine flight legs, meaning passengers on these flights would face delays or cancellations. He added that the airline would likely face compensation claims, refund obligations, and reputational backlash, as well as significant costs to repair the aircraft. Referencing a previous incident involving a bird strike that reportedly cost over $3 million, he noted it took nearly a month for a replacement engine cowling to arrive.

The damaged aircraft, one of Air Peace’s newly delivered E2 jets, had been fully booked until January 15, 2026, meaning future operations could also be affected. Achimugu emphasized that airlines often cite “technical” or “operational” reasons for such disruptions, even when ground handling errors are to blame.

He called for accountability among ground handling personnel, whose mistakes can result in substantial financial, technical, and reputational losses for airlines. The NCAA is reportedly considering stricter regulatory measures, including harsher sanctions for service providers found responsible for similar incidents.

Achimugu urged passengers to be informed about the actual causes of flight disruptions and appealed for understanding from those affected. While Air Peace has standby aircraft, they are already deployed for other operational needs and have lower seating capacity than the damaged E2 jet, which often leads to misperceptions about the airline’s responsibility.