Flight operations involving a newly acquired Embraer 195-E2 aircraft owned by Air Peace were disrupted on Friday following a ground handling incident at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

The airline confirmed the development in an official statement, explaining that the incident occurred after passengers had already boarded the aircraft for departure.

According to the statement, a luggage conveyor belt vehicle operated by the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company collided with one of the aircraft’s engines while the plane was still on the ground.

Air Peace disclosed that the affected aircraft, with registration number 5N-BYH, was scheduled to operate Flight P47750 from Lagos to Accra at the time of the incident.

The airline said the collision resulted in visible damage to the aircraft, including a dent and tear on the thrust reverser cowling, which forms part of the engine cover.

“In line with aviation safety procedures, an immediate technical assessment was carried out, leading to the grounding of the aircraft.

“All passengers already on board were asked to disembark, causing delays and disruptions to scheduled operations,” the statement added.

Air Peace further stated that the Embraer 195-E2 involved in the incident is part of its newly acquired fleet, describing the extent of the damage as significant.

The airline noted that beyond the inconvenience caused to passengers, the incident also carried serious financial implications, stressing that repairs on modern aircraft engines are capital-intensive.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority also confirmed the incident through its spokesman, Michael Achimugu, who made the disclosure in a post on his X handle.

Achimugu revealed that the affected aircraft was expected to serve nine flight sectors, all of which may now be impacted by the incident.

“Air Peace has suffered a lot of these technical issues through no fault of theirs.

“We need to start naming and shaming poorly trained ground handling personnel whose inefficiency costs the airlines great reputational, financial, and technical damage.

“We will now be looking to strengthen the regulations in a way that also heavily sanctions service providers for matters like the type in the images below.

“Airlines should not be held responsible for situations like this, and passengers should be informed, most honestly, about the reasons for disruptions caused by these unfortunate scenarios. I do hope that there is enough insurance to cover the cost of losses like this one.

“In advance, I call for the understanding of passengers who were scheduled to fly this aircraft. I have asked about the standby aircraft.

“The airline has two (which is commendable), but those two have been deployed to cover two other similar situations. In any case, even if they were available, their seating capacities are less than the damaged E2.”