Trending 
Reactions have followed reports of German airline Lufthansa allegedly offloading 45 Nigerian passengers with all their luggage from a July 23, 2025, flight.
Lufthansa airline claimed that the offload of 45 passengers last Wednesday, and all the luggage of about 200 passengers fully booked for the Abuja-Frankfurt flight, was to reduce the weight of the aircraft. This, they stated, was to enable it to take off from a shorter length of the runway.
They added that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) cordoned off some parts of the runway; hence, the aircraft could not utilise the full length of the runway before taking off.
However, officials of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, have faulted Lufthansa airline’s claims.
Speaking anonymously, some officials confirmed that other airlines with aircraft of similar body dimensions to Lufthansa’s successfully took off and landed on the same runway, which was under maintenance, with no need to offload either passengers or luggage.
They went on to confirm that a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued about the condition of the runway and suggested that an internal technical misunderstanding may have led to overbooking of the Lufthansa flight and the resultant excess luggage.
Findings show that several international flights, including Qatar Airways, British Airways, and Egypt Air, all operated successfully on the same day.
