Max Air Flight With Pantami, Others Aboard Aborts Bauchi Landing, Returns To Abuja Over Faulty Runway Lighting

A Max Air flight from Abuja to Bauchi was on Sunday night forced to return to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja after the pilot aborted landing due to a runway lighting fault at Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi.

The aircraft, which departed Abuja on Sunday April 19, 2026, reportedly hovered over Bauchi for about 30 minutes as the crew assessed the situation before deciding it was unsafe to land at the Bauchi Airport.

Passengers on board said the pilot announced that a fault in the airport’s runway lighting system made visibility inadequate for a safe touchdown.

Prioritising passenger safety, the pilot opted to return to Abuja rather than attempt a risky landing.

One of the passengers who spoke with journalists on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the aircraft was successfully redirected back to Abuja.

It was also gathered that the flight had experienced an earlier delay, departing Abuja after 5 p.m.

The passenger added that while in Bauchi airspace, the Captain of the flight informed the passengers that he couldn’t land in Bauchi because of “technical issues”, therefore the flight went round Bauchi several times with the hope that “the technical issues” would be rectified.

Finally, he decided to return back to Abuja with all the passengers aboard, including those from Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa States.

LEADERSHIP reports that the immediate-past Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, and Gombe State governorship hopeful, Professor Isa Ali Pantami was among the passengers aboard the aircraft.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the airline is expected to provide an update on a rescheduled departure to Bauchi this Monday.