The baggage claim area of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos was in chaos on Monday morning, as passengers could not receive their checked-in luggage.
A SaharaReporters correspondent at the airport observed that Qatar Airways passengers who landed in Lagos at 10:15 a.m. could not retrieve their luggage, as the carousels designed for passengers’ baggage claim had been converted to cargo carousels.
Our correspondent learned that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) was responsible for converting the baggage claim carousels to cargo carousels.
The cabin crew were also affected by the change, as our correspondent noted that it took 45 minutes for the crew members to retrieve their luggage. Cabin crew normally retrieve their luggage almost immediately upon landing.
Our correspondent saw passengers, many of whom were elderly people and children, sitting on the floor of the airport waiting for their luggage.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, one passenger, Mrs. Adegoke, expressed frustration at the situation.
“We are perplexed with the situation of things at this airport. We have been here for over three hours and yet we are still not sure of when our luggage will arrive,” she said.
“FAAN is giving priority to cargo luggage, rather than the light luggage the carousels were meant for. That is why these carousels break down early. FAAN has a hajj and cargo terminal, but decided to divert the cargo to this place, thereby causing untold hardship on us.”
At the time of publication, passengers were still awaiting the arrival of their luggage.
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