The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has confirmed that its C-130 aircraft has arrived in Portugal for scheduled maintenance.
Disclosing this in a statement on Friday, NAF spokesman Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame said the aircraft “arrived safely at the maintenance facility, OGMA in Lisbon, Portugal on Friday.
“The ferry flight was successfully completed, transiting Banjul and Casablanca in line with an updated flight plan and established aviation safety procedures,” Ejodame said.
According to him, the aircraft and crew arrived without incident, marking the final phase of the movement for the scheduled depot maintenance.
Noting that all personnel are safe and remain in high spirits, he said NAF appreciates the cooperation and support of host authorities throughout the transit.
On December 23, the plane safely landed in Banjul, The Gambia, en route to Portugal after undertaking a ferry flight for scheduled depot maintenance.
The aircraft had made a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, on December 8, following technical issues.
The crew and aircraft were temporarily detained. The Alliance of Sahel States — made up of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso — said in a joint statement that the aircraft had been carrying 11 military personnel and did not have permission to fly over Burkina Faso.
“An aircraft belonging to the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, type C-130, was forced to land today in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, following an in-flight emergency situation while it was operating in Burkinabe airspace,” according to an alliance statement read on state media in the three West African countries.
But NAF said the landing was purely precautionary and carried out in line with international aviation safety standards, stressing that there was no emergency and that the aircraft remained serviceable throughout.
The aircraft was later released after a meeting between a Nigerian government delegation, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Burkina Faso’s junta leader, Ibrahim Traoré, in Ouagadougou.
