The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) confirmed the incident in a statement by its spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, on Thursday.
Achimugu said the incident occurred on Tuesday, 23 September, aboard Flight DL055, which had departed from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, for Atlanta, United State of America.
According to him, the fire was swiftly contained and did not endanger passengers.
However, the resulting delay caused the flight crew to exceed their scheduled duty time, preventing them from continuing the journey to Atlanta.
“Airline officials confirmed that while the fire was swiftly contained and posed no threat to passengers, the delay caused the crew to exceed their expected duty time, making them unable to continue the journey as scheduled,” Achimugu said.
Following the unscheduled landing in Accra, Delta Airlines began rebooking arrangements for stranded passengers.
Some were accommodated on a Delta Accra–New York service the same evening, while others were rebooked on the following night’s flight.
“However, some passengers were rebooked on the airline’s Accra–New York flight the same evening, and this effort was repeated on Wednesday night for additional passengers. Flight DL055 LOS – ATL finally departed from Accra today, 25 September 2025, at approximately 1200 hrs,” Achimugu stated.In a related development, Delta Airlines also cancelled its inbound Atlanta–Lagos (ATL–LOS) service for Thursday, 25 September.
Though passengers were informed in advance, the airline still made provisions for those who showed up at the airport.
“The airline provided hotel accommodations and ground transport for those who still reported to the airport,” Achimugu said.
To minimise disruptions, Delta rebooked 23 affected passengers on Air France, while others were scheduled to travel via British Airways, KLM, and Lufthansa.
The remaining passengers will be transported on Delta’s regular service from Atlanta on Friday, 26 September, at 11:40 a.m.
He said, “Regarding today’s 25 September 2025 ATL – LOS arrival cancellation, although passengers were duly informed about the cancellation, the airline accommodated those who arrived at the airport by providing transportation to hotels as reported in the flight disruption this morning,” Achimugu explained.
“Twenty-three passengers had been rebooked on Air France, while others would be airlifted on British Airways, KLM, and Lufthansa Airlines.
“The remaining passengers are scheduled to depart on the airline’s scheduled flight tomorrow, 26 September 2025, at 1140 hrs.”
Achimugu also dismissed earlier reports suggesting that the Lagos-bound Air France service had been cancelled.
“Air France flight has not been cancelled as speculated, but would operate at 0130 hrs.
“Kindly note that I am attending meetings in Montreal, but I have had to constantly leave the hall to make calls and get feedback. Follow-up continues.
“While wishing you safe travels, do not hesitate to reach out to me if there is a further need to,” Achimugu added.