The Nigerian aviation sector has been hit by fresh safety concerns as United Nigeria Airlines was forced to ground an Airbus A320 aircraft on Tuesday January 13 2026. The incident occurred during a flight from Asaba to Lagos when two birds were sucked into the aircraft engines during the landing phase at Murtala Muhammed Airport.
This operational failure has triggered widespread flight cancellations and delays across the airline’s national network while the aircraft undergoes a mandatory comprehensive safety inspection.
This grounding coincided with a major warning from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau regarding deteriorating safety standards on airport aprons. During a joint workshop in Lagos on Wednesday Captain Chris Najomo the Director General of the NCAA highlighted that ground coordination failures contribute to billions of dollars in global losses annually.
Regulators noted that recent inspections at Nigerian airports revealed alarming lapses including passengers boarding while planes were actively refueling and a severe shortage of certified marshallers to guide aircraft movements.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau further cautioned that many accidents are set in motion long before takeoff due to human factors such as fatigue and poor communication. NSIB Director General Alex Badeh Junior noted that improper marshalling signals and the presence of foreign object debris on the tarmac remain primary causes of preventable ground collisions.
In response to these risks the regulator has pledged to increase enforcement of safety management systems and ensure that all apron personnel receive specialized training to handle the high pressure environment of Nigerian tarmac operations.
