Libya Ordeal: They Gambled Our Lives With The Diversion – Pilot

The Tunisian pilot who flew the Super Eagles of Nigeria to Libya has provided a detailed account of the incident that led to the team being stranded at Al Abraq Airport instead of their intended destination, Benghazi.

The Nigerian national team was scheduled to face Libya in a reverse fixture on October 15.

However, upon their arrival in Libya on Sunday, for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, the delegation was left stranded for over 18 hours after their flight was unexpectedly diverted mid-flight to Al Abraq, a small airport typically reserved for Hajj operations.

In a video posted on X by Nigerian journalist Festus Dada, the pilot explained.

“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,” he added.

“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.”

“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 was from the highest authority, you cannot land in Benghazi, you have to divert immediately to Al-Abraq.”

The pilot emphasized that all relevant communications and authorizations are documented and could be provided as evidence if needed.

“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.

The pilot noted the lack of necessary facilities at Al Abraq, stating:

“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 stated. “No second chances” if the landing had gone wrong.

“It was not an easy matter at all. When a pilot hears this, he will understand that it was not an easy thing to land under such conditions. Thank God we made it safely,” he concluded.

Both federations are now awaiting CAF’s ruling on the incident, which is expected in the coming days.