The Tunisian pilot who flew the Super Eagles players to Libya for their scheduled 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) match has revealed what transpired mid-flight and how they were allegedly instructed by the highest Libyan authority to divert the plane to a different location.
In a video interview sighted by Sporting Tribune and posted on X by Sports Journalist, Festus Dada on Tuesday, the pilot recounted his experience, explaining that while he had planned to land at the designated airport, they were suddenly directed by officials to divert to another one just as they got close to their destination.
He further revealed that he had attempted to alert the officials at least eight times about the situation, but they insisted that the order came from the highest authority and must be followed.
The pilot expressed concern that the safety of the players could have been compromised, as the fuel had been carefully calculated for the original destination.
This revelation comes just hours after reports surfaced alleging that the Super Eagles players had been mistreated by Libyan authorities ahead of their match.
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 which 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 to safety.
“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.”
Refuting claims from the media that the diversion was his decision, he said, “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’s from highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq,” he stated.
The pilot noted that all relevant communications and authorisations are documented and could be provided as evidence if needed.
He said, “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.”
Describing the conditions at Al-Abraq, the pilot highlighted the challenges of landing at what he referred to as a poorly equipped domestic airport.
“There is no ILS (Instrument Landing System), no air navigation approach, no VHR (VHF Omnidirectional Range). We had to make a visual landing, which is particularly difficult by night with marginal weather,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on Monday, decided to pull the Super Eagles out of qualifier match against Libya.
The team landed in Nigeria on Monday evening.
|SituationReport|
