Italian carrier, Meridiana Air has said its flight from Lagos to Milan on Tuesday was not overbooked contrary to report, insisting that the 40 passengers that could not make the flight arrived late to the airport.

The 40 passengers who scheduled to travel with the carrier were left stranded at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA) on Tuesday with some of them alleging that the flight was overbooked.

However, the airline denied the flight was overbooked, saying the flight departed with 91 empty seats.

In a series of tweet on its handle, @Meridiana in response to our correspondent’s enquiry, the airline said, “The flight departed from Lagos with 91 empty seats. So no overbooking, the aircraft was not fully booked.

“The check-in counters closed 90 minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight as expected.”

The response of the airline also tallied with that of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) which also confirmed that the passengers arrived late to the airport.

The NCAA however advised the passengers to communicate with the airline for flight re-scheduling.

Findings revealed that the passengers might be airlifted tomorrow (Thursday) when another Meridiana flight departs to Milan.