FG Shifts International Flights Date To Sept 5
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – Less than 48 hours to its proposed date for the resumption of international flights, the Federal Government has backed down on the initial plans
Instead, Saturday, September 5, 2020 has now been picked as the new date to replace Saturday, August 29 as originally planned.
All international flights and related activities were suspended in March on the orders of President Muhammad Buhari as part of measures to curb the influx of imported cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
In making the latest announcement, Director General of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu,, said: “Since the announcement by the Minister of Aviation that international flights will resume anytime from the 29th of August, the aviation sector has worked assiduously to be ready for this date.”
Nuhu, who spoke at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Media briefing, however admitted that; “We have other non-aviation logistics we are still working on and it has mostly to do with COVID-19 protocols test and open the online platform.”
According to him; “We need to get all these ready and in place so that we have a smooth and efficient resumption of the international flights without difficulties for all the passengers.”
Assuring that the aviation sector, including the airports, is already working towards the new date, Nuhu said; “So for this reason, unfortunately, I have to let you know the resumption date has been shifted by one week and it is now 5th of September which is now a sacrosanct date.
“The initial announcement was anytime from 29th of August but now, we have fixed a date; 5th of September to ensure that the sacrosanct date for the resumption of international flight.”
Nuhu, who said NCAA will next week officially publish the list of countries that will not be allowed to fly into Nigeria when the international flights resume, hinted that the government is currently fine-tuning the list to ensure its coverage is comprehensive.
