The Tunisian pilot who flew the Nigerian team to Libya has opened up about what transpired between the team and Libyan authorities, News About Nigeria reports.
Shedding light on their unexpected diversion to a remote airport, Al-Abraq, instead of their intended destination, Benghazi, the pilot revealed that it was on the instruction of Libya’s highest authority.
Recall that the Nigerian team who left the country on Sunday en route to Benghazi for Tuesday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Libya were left stranded for over 13 hours after their flight was diverted mid-flight to Al Abraq, an airport typically reserved for hajj operations.
This diversion, which left the players and other team members stranded, led to them boycotting the match to return to Nigeria.
Speaking on the diversion in a video interview on X on Tuesday, the pilot explained that the decision to divert the plane was not made at his discretion as it came from Libyan authorities.
He said, “The flight plan was to land at Benghazi, Benina, and we had the approval from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to do so. However, when we began our descent, they instructed us to divert to Al-Abraq, which is almost 150 miles away, around 300 kilometres east. It wasn’t even (listed as) our alternate airport, something that is not good. In aviation, we have our flight plan; we calculate the fuel to our destination, so we have to avoid this kind of thing because it may make a breach of safety,” he stated, adding that he repeatedly questioned the directive.
“When I asked to land in Benghazi according to my flight plan and according to my authorisation, they said no, it’s from the highest authority, you have to land in Al-Abraq. Everything is registered in aviation; we cannot hide anything, so I asked them several times, at least eight times, and I warned them, probably I will be in trouble for fuel; they said it was from the highest authority; you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq. The truth was we were going to Benghazi, and I can show you the evidence of the approval, I have it. But at the last minute, they changed their mind and changed the airport.”
The pilot further lamented the fact that the diversion was risky because of the conditions of the Al-Abraq airport, which was poorly equipped.
“There is no ILS (Instrument Landing System), no air navigation approach, and no VHR (VHF Omnidirectional Range). We had to make a visual landing, which is particularly difficult by night with marginal weather.”
He further stated that the airport’s lack of facilities left them with “no second chances” if the landing had gone wrong.
