United Nigeria Airlines faces flight disruption after two consecutive bird strikes



United Nigeria Airlines has announced that some flights on its network will be disrupted and will not operate as scheduled after a second bird strike was recorded in less than 24 hours.

The airline also disclosed that this bird strike, the fourth since January 2026, occurred on one of the engines of another Airbus A320 aircraft during the take-off of flight UN0519 scheduled for 12:00 hours from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Sunday, 15 February 2026.

“In line with our strict and uncompromising safety standards, the affected aircraft has been removed from service for a comprehensive technical inspection before returning to operations.

“This brings the total number of Airbus aircraft removed from service to two in less than 24 hours. As a result, some flights on our network will be disrupted and will not be able to operate as previously scheduled,” the airline said in a statement.

According to the statement, the airline is strongly committed to maintaining the highest safety standards.

“This is indeed very much another bird strike; however, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this unexpected development may cause to your travel plans and please ask for the understanding and patience of our valued passengers and the general public.

“Our team is working diligently to minimize disruptions and provide assistance to all affected passengers,” the statement said.

Ifeoma Okeke-Koriocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Koriocha is an aviation correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publisher of BusinessDay newspapers. She is also the deputy editor of BusinessDay Weekender magazine, the Saturday weekend edition of BusinessDay. He holds a BSc in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Master's degree in Marketing from the University of Lagos. As lead writer on the Aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also lives abroad and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. He has written various investigative, feature and news stories on aviation and business related issues and has been nominated for an award in the category Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Night-Out Awards; One of Nigeria's most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' category. He is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. He has received several journalism trainings from various reputed organizations. Ifeoma Wole Soyinka is also a fellow of the Center for Investigative Journalism's Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship.


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