Pilot on inaugural Nigeria to Barbados flight says it was ‘easy’ Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

Some 130 passengers from various countries in West Africa landed in Barbados on the first direct flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to Barbados on board Ethiopian Airlines this morning.

The flight was eight hours long with little turbulence.

Chatting with Loop on the tarmac in the shadow of the aircraft parked at Gate 10 at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA), German-born captain Lars Mueller said that the direct flight was uneventful.

He said:

“It was straightforward, easy flight. The weather was nice. We had some clouds in the Atlantic but otherwise it was a smooth, uncomplicated flight.”

Asked if he thinks there should be a non-stop flight between the continent and Caribbean, he said that making that happen is out of his purview. But from the point of view of a pilot, it is feasible.

“That’s not up to me, it’s a matter of the two countries. I don’t know if there are enough people for a route for this…”

Speaking with his captain hat on, however, he asserted, “It’s no problem at all. It’s easy – the flight to come here, the airport, the facilities is perfect, the weather is always good. There is no problem at all.”

Noting the weather comment, Mueller revealed that this is not his first time touching down on Barbados soil though. But he was not at the helm, that time. He revealed, “I’ve been to Barbados 20 years ago for vacation and had a nice holiday here.”

And with those memories, plus today’s successful flight, he said that his boss would make the call on whether he will be repeating this trip in the future.

Ethiopian Airlines serves over 130 destinations around the globe. Mueller has been a pilot for more than 30 years.

The passengers who disembarked the flight around 10:40 am, today, August 31, 2022, are in Barbados for the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum 2022 (ACTIF 2022) to be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) from September 1 to September 3, 2022. This inaugural forum is an initiative of the Government of Barbados and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank). The comanagers of the Forum are Invest Barbados and Export Barbados. The direct flight was also made possible through the efforts of the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI).

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