Lagos, Love, and KLM's Lack of Logic
The Journey Out
On February 10th, 2026, I kicked off my vacation with a KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) flight from London to Lagos via Amsterdam. The 1:20hr hop to Schiphol was easy, followed by a 3-hour layover and a smooth 6:40hr flight home. Even in regular economy class, it was seamless.
The Good Times
I planned a two-week stay to celebrate my dad’s 65th birthday. It was also my first time back in Nigeria since 2024.
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Lagos: The first few days were a blast; some light work at the Lagos office, gym sessions, and catching up with friends.
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Ibadan: On the 15th, I headed to my parents’ place in Ibadan. I used the newly constructed railway from Lagos, which was so peak.
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The Birthday: The 17th was perfect: great food and plenty of family time.
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The “Hotspot” Life: Navigating with just a friend’s MiFi (real OG oh!) and the kindness of strangers sharing their “hotspots” worked surprisingly well. It felt surreal how fun and relatively easy everything was.
The Chaos Begins
The vibe shifted on February 23rd. Arriving at Murtala Muhammed International Airport for my 11 PM flight back to London, I saw a huge cloud of smoke—the main terminal (Terminal 1) was on fire.
The next 48 hours were a masterclass in poor management. KLM moved the flight to Wednesday the 25th but provided zero accommodation or assistance. When I returned to the airport on the night of the 24th, the “systems were down,” still due to the fire over 24 hours prior. KLM staff and contractors began processing hundreds of passengers manually. This meant assigning seats and checking in passengers using a pen-and-paper system; a wild sight in 2026.
The Breaking Point
By 5 AM Wednesday (after over 8–9 hours of standing idly in queues), hundreds of people were still waiting with zero communication. A mini-protest, born purely out of frustration, eventually forced a manager to appear, only to tell us: “Come back at 4 PM.”
Desperate to get back for work, I tried booking a last-minute flight with Royal Air Maroc, but their manual manifest couldn’t update in time to let me board. Another hotel, another nap (literally), a shower, and back to the airport at noon. When KLM finally opened, much later than the 4 PM they promised, they prioritized Wednesday’s originally scheduled passengers, pushing those of us delayed from Monday and Tuesday even further back.
The Conclusion
I eventually gave up on KLM and booked a seat on Air Peace (Nigeria’s leading airline) just to get home. Lagos was a dream (Mainly the people and experience), but the return journey was a disaster. I wouldn’t recommend KLM to my worst enemy after this.
While “Nigeria happened” and the main terminal was closed, basic communication would have made the experience much better. Instead, I had to repeatedly queue for 10 hours, miss work, and accrue unplanned expenses—all for a flight that never took off with me on it. I’m still figuring out the how, but I will certainly be seeking compensation.
The Timeline Summary (TLDR):
- Feb 23 (Monday), 11 PM: Scheduled flight to London. Terminal 1 on fire. Flight cancelled.
- Feb 24 (Tuesday): KLM reschedules to Wednesday. No accommodation provided.
- Feb 24 evening: Return to airport. Systems still down. Manual processing begins with pen and paper.
- Feb 25 (Wednesday), 5 AM: After 8–9 hours in queues, told to “come back at 4 PM.”
- Feb 25 (Wednesday), ~7 AM: Attempt Royal Air Maroc flight. Manual manifest fails. Head home for a nap and shower.
- Feb 25 (Wednesday), 12 Noon: Return to airport. KLM prioritizes Wednesday passengers, pushing us further back.
- Feb 26 (Thursday): Give up on KLM. Book Air Peace. Finally home.
Some tunes from road time in Lagos: