Angry passengers stormed an airport tarmac and crowded around a Brussels Airlines plane after suffering repeated cancellations of their flight.
The incident occurred at Kinshasa N’Djili Airport (FIH) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after an Airbus A330-300 registered OO-SFF was cancelled on both September 15 and September 16, 2023.
According to aviation24, Flight SN358 on September 15, 2023, was cancelled due to an exploded engine starter and on the following day the flight was cancelled because the cargo fire detection failed.
Following the second cancellation the passengers finally reached the end of their tether and began protesting outside the plane. It is understood that the aircraft crew were on board the aircraft at this time.
Airport staff and police eventually took control of the situation and the passengers returned to the terminal.
Passengers claimed that they were not provided with any assistance or with provisions for food or drink during the delays.
It is understood that an additional Brussels Airlines plane arrived at FIH and flew the passengers to the Belgium capital in the evening of September 16, 2023.
#RDC : Suite à l’annulation, pour le deuxième jour de suite, du vol @FlyingBrussels prévu depuis le vendredi 15/09, les passagers ont pris d’assaut le tarmac de l’aéroport de N’diji pour manifester. #Congo #Congo243 #Afrique https://t.co/RvlIjs8gRz
— Josly Ngoma (@josly_ngoma) September 17, 2023