Nigeria to Resume Domestic Flights July 8

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has announced that domestic flights will resume in the country from Wednesday, July 8, 2020.

The Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, in a tweet on Wednesday said operations would resume at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe Airport in Abuja on July 8 with other airports slated for a few days after.

However, he said international flight operations will recommence at a date to be announced later by the local authorities.

The European Union had excluded passengers coming from Nigeria, the United States of America, Brazil and other countries from entering its region because of the spike in the cases of COVID-19 in these nations. The continent was one of the worst-hit by the virus.

“I am glad to announce that Abuja & Lagos airports will resume domestic operations on the 8th of July, 2020. Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri & Maiduguri to resume on the 11th. Other airports on the 15th.

“The date for international to be announced in due course. Bear with us,” the Minister wrote yesterday on his Twitter page.

Earlier, Mr Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, had announced at a briefing of the presidential task force on COVID-19 on Monday that the federal government had approved the resumption of domestic flights in the country.

Flights had been suspended since March in the country as part of movement restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The PTF had initially set June 21 as a tentative date for flight resumption and had mandated aviation agencies and operators to work on protocols to resume operations in line with COVID-19 safety guidelines.

But on June 18, Mr Musa Nuhu, director-general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), announced that the June 21 date was no longer feasible as checks still had to be carried out on the adjustments made by stakeholders.

In preparation for flight resumption, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) published guidelines for passengers including being at the airport three hours to five hours before take-off.