Ukraine’s An-12 plane owned by air company Meridian was detained in Nigeria groundlessly, the company’s director-general, Nikolai Minyailo, told Itar-Tass on Thursday, Itar-Tass reported.
“There were all permits for this flight, including that from Nigeria’s authorities. There were absolutely no violations concerning the plane, cargo or the documents,” he said.
He noted that the cargo did not belong to Ukraine.
“The plane made the flight from Zagreb, Croatia, to Equatorial Guinea and landed in Nigeria for re-fueling,” Minyailo said.
The crew consisted of seven members.
“They were placed in a air-conditioned room and allowed to refill their mobile phones. However, the passports were taken from them,” he said. “The pilots’ state of health is normal, they had breakfast. The only inconvenience – they have no much place for sleep.”
Minyailo expressed the hope that the situation will be sorted out soon, as diplomats of several countries began to resolve the problem.
