Arik Air has explained that a false fire alarm made its Boeing 737-700 aircraft operating flight W3 720 from Lagos to Abuja on Thursday morning, to make an air return, otherwise known as ‘turn back’.

An air return is when an aircraft returns to land at the departure airport without planning to do so. In most cases, it is usually minutes after take-off.

Arik Air said the alarm noticed a few minutes after take-off prompted the captain to adhere to standard operating procedures by making a return approximately 10 minutes after take-off.

The management, however, explained that investigations carried out by its maintenance team after the turn back showed that the indication light was triggered by a false alarm.

The statement reads: “The incident occurred approximately 10 minutes after takeoff, prompting the Captain of the flight to adhere to standard operating procedures by initiating an air return and requesting priority landing clearance from the Control Tower.

“Upon landing safely in Lagos, passengers were disembarked and the aircraft underwent thorough inspections to ensure its airworthiness for future flight operations.

“Subsequent investigation by our maintenance team determined that the indication light was triggered by a false alarm. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience experienced by our esteemed passengers as a result of this incident.”