TP Mazembe players in Kinshasa
Photo Credit: TP Mazembe
TP Mazembe's journey from Lubumbashi to Nouakchott for their upcoming CAF Champions League match against Sudanese club Al-Hilal Omdurman has turned into an ordeal due to repeated flight delays and cancellations. Here's a breakdown of the events as reported by TP Mazembe's official website:
Departure from Lubumbashi
The team left Lubumbashi on the evening of Wednesday, December 4, headed to Nouakchott via Kinshasa and Casablanca.
Upon arriving in Kinshasa, the team was scheduled to board a Royal Air Maroc flight at 6:15 a.m. on Thursday. Players and staff boarded the plane early Thursday morning, but the flight did not take off as scheduled. After three hours of waiting on the aircraft, they were disembarked to the waiting lounge by 10:30 a.m.
After the departure flight was eventually canceled due to a technical issue, a promise was made from the airline to resolve the problem quickly and the flight was rescheduled for 12:05 a.m. on Friday.
Second Attempt
On Thursday night at 9:30 p.m., the team returned to N'djili International Airport, hopeful that the issue had been resolved. After long delays during check-in and boarding, the flight was again canceled.
At 1:30 a.m. on Friday, the plane aligned on the runway, but a cockpit alarm forced the pilot to abort the takeoff. Passengers were disembarked for the second time at around 3:00 a.m.
Stranded in Kinshasa
The second cancellation caused the team to miss their connection in Casablanca for Nouakchott. As of yesterday afternoon, the delegation was still in Kinshasa, conducting light physical exercises while waiting for updates.
A new departure for Casablanca has been scheduled for Saturday, December 7, at 4:00 a.m. However, there is no guarantee they will make the connection to Nouakchott. TP Mazembe has contacted CAF to formally report this series of disruptions and inconveniences caused by Royal Air Maroc.
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