Lagos — About 300 intending passengers were on Monday, stranded at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, (MMA), Lagos as well as the London Heathrow airport.

This was as a result of Bellview airline's inability to airlift them from Lagos to London and return some from London to Lagos.

It was gathered that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had grounded the aircraft scheduled for the flight on Sunday for safety reasons.

It was however not clear why the airline went ahead to check-in the passengers giving them boarding pass that the flight would depart Lagos for London at 9.15 am.

Trouble started when it was time to board the aircraft and passengers were stopped from proceeding into the plane by aviation security personnel.

It was at this point that they were informed that the aircraft for the operation was undergoing NCAA's check.

Passengers who commented on the matter said the action was deliberate, stressing that the airline was just interested in collecting money without planning to airlift them.

They said it was typical of Nigerian airlines to treat passengers shabbily without thinking of the trauma they would pass through when their plans are thwarted.

They said as soon as it dawned on some of the airlines' officials that passengers knew the flight might not depart; they disappeared so as not to face their wrath.

Akin Omotoye, one of the passengers said; "Many of us have been here as early as 7 am and this is 3.45 pm. We were not told anything as we were checked in to fly at 9.15 am. They later told us that the aircraft has some technical fault. They just kept us here since morning without telling us what will become our fate".

Another passenger, Tayo Ogundele said all the airline gave them after waiting for over two hours was a small juice drink and meat pie.

"A lot of us are supposed to resume at our offices, now we cannot do that. Those people that are to meet us will be at Heathrow and become apprehensive when we do not see us," he lamented.

For Marvis Ihasee, who is to have a connecting flight to Norway, "Passengers should not be treated like this, no one is telling us anything. In fact, this is fraud. I am supposed to have a connecting flight to Norway; I do not know how I will deal with that now."

Others were busy asking for the airlines officials with rage, threatening to sue the airline for failure to show concern for their welfare.

The regional manager, in charge of the Lagos airport, Edward Olarerin said that the NCAA was meeting with officials of the airline.

According to him, in order to ensure that law and order is maintained by the passengers, some aviation security personnel were deployed to the terminal while the station manager of the airline was directed to relocate the passengers to a hotel.

"We are on top of the situation, you know this is the busiest airport in Nigeria, we would not want anything disrupt other airlines operations. So everything is under control," Olarerin said.

Several calls made to the Corporate Affairs Manager of Bellview Airlines, Habib Mohammed were unanswered, just as the media assistant to the Director General of NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, equally failed to respond to his calls.