A Brussels Airlines plane has been grounded in Kinshasa since Friday evening due to technical issues.
The aircraft, an Airbus A330 registered as OO-SFF, was scheduled to depart from Kinshasa-N’Djili airport with approximately 230 passengers. However, due to a technical fault, its departure has been delayed twice already.
Frustrations rise at Kinshasa Airport
“Following the second delay, there was some unrest at Kinshasa airport,” confirmed a spokesperson of the airline. Security personnel had to intervene when a group of passengers attempted to storm the tarmac in protest.
Images and complaints are circulating on social media with disgruntled passengers experiencing “two days of delay, without information,” due to the malfunctioning airplane.
“We’re being treated like dogs,” claimed one passenger.
Brussels Airlines has issued an apology for the inconvenience and highlighted that the safety of the passengers and crew remains the top priority.
“All our teams are doing their best to get passengers to their destination as soon as possible,” the airline stated.
The airline has offered hotel accommodation for the passengers. Other Brussels Airlines flights to and from Kinshasa have proceeded without any glitches.
