FG asks airlines to get ready for resumption of international flights

The federal government has asked airlines in the country to begin the process for the resumption of international flights.

The federal government had banned international flights in March as parts of measures to check the spread of COVID-19.

But on Thursday, Sani Aliyu, national coordinator of the presidential task force on COVID-19, asked the aviation authorities and airline operators to begin the process for the resumption of international flights.

“For international travel, we have made recommendations to the aviation industry to commence the process for opening international airports provided all existing international and local prevention guidelines and COVID-19 are in place,” he said.

Aliyu said passengers for international flights would arrive three hours before departure time.

“We have modified the advice with the regards to arrival for flights: Passengers arriving at the airports for domestic flights advice to arrive at least one and a half hours before their flight, and three hours before international flights where these restart,” he said.

Domestic flights resumed operation on July 8 after a  three-month ban as a result of the pandemic.

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

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