Senate warns VIP airport shutdowns could cause an air disaster — planes kept circling for over an hour
Photo: The Senate in plenary · Source: Vanguard (file photo)
The Senate says VIP movements are keeping passenger planes circling for over an hour — and warns it could end in disaster.
Key points
- The Senate warned on Tuesday that frequent restrictions on airport operations and commercial flights to accommodate Very Important Personalities could trigger a major aviation disaster.
- Some international flights had been diverted to alternative airports.
- The warning followed an urgent motion by Senator Jibrin Isa (Kogi East).
The Senate warned on Tuesday that frequent restrictions on airport operations and commercial flights to accommodate Very Important Personalities could trigger a major aviation disaster.
Lawmakers said commercial aircraft approaching their destinations were routinely forced to remain airborne for extended periods — in some cases over an hour — because of security restrictions linked to VIP movements, exposing passengers and crew to fuel exhaustion, adverse weather, air traffic congestion and crew duty-time limits. Some international flights had been diverted to alternative airports.
The warning followed an urgent motion by Senator Jibrin Isa (Kogi East). The Senate directed its Committee on Aviation (chair: Senator Abdulfatai Buhari) to convene an urgent stakeholders' meeting with the NCAA, NAMA, FAAN and the NSIB, and report back within two weeks; the heads of NCAA, NAMA and FAAN were called to appear.
The Senate urged the agencies to give airlines advance notice of planned restrictions and, where restrictions are unavoidable, to hold aircraft yet to depart on the ground rather than let them take off only to circle. Senator Abdul Ningi warned the approaching harmattan season plus prolonged holding and poor coordination could create dangerous situations, recounting a Kano flight expected to last 40 minutes that reportedly took about two and a half hours. Senate President Godswill Akpabio recounted his own experience as a traveller, saying passengers were once kept inside an airport bus for about three hours because of VIP movements.
The Senate warned a disaster could result — it did not say one nearly happened. No specific incident or VIP was named in the reports checked, and NewsFlux is not attributing any holding incident to a specific person.
Why this matters
The Senate warned a disaster could result — it did not say one nearly happened.
Latest developments
First published 11 Nov 2026, 10:17 WAT.
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Sources
- Vanguard — Senate summons aviation agencies over flight delays, safety risks
- Independent — VIP Movement: Senate Warns Of Aviation Disaster, Demands End To Airport Disruptions
- The Sun — Senate raises the alarm over incessant airspace closures for VIPs
- TheNigerian — Senate warns VIP airport restrictions could cause disaster
Senate warned a disaster COULD result — it did not say one nearly happened. No specific incident or VIP named — do not attribute to specific VIPs. Akpabio's airport-bus anecdote is his own account.