FG set to lift suspension on Emirates flights

The federal government says Emirates Airline will soon resume flights to and from Nigeria.

Musa Nuhu, director-general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), spoke on Monday during the briefing of the presidential steering committee (PSC) on COVID-19 in Abuja.

In March, the federal government suspended inbound and outbound flights by Emirates Airline over its  insistence on conducting rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) at airports in Nigeria for passengers travelling to UAE.

The carrier was temporarily banned in February over the same issue.

Nuhu said discussions are ongoing with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on lifting the airline’s suspension, adding that the outcome would be announced within the next two days.

“As regards the issue of Emirates Airline’s resumption of flight to Nigeria, the presidential steering committee deliberated extensively on this matter and the gap has been significantly closed between the position of Nigeria and the UAE,” he said.

“They’ve actually met some of our requirements and we are just waiting for one confirmation and very shortly, an announcement will be made on the outcome.

“Hopefully within the next 24 to 48 hours, we will make an announcement on that.”

The NCAA DG assured that Port Harcourt and Enugu airports will recommence international flights in a short period of time.

“On the opening of more airports in Nigeria for international flights, three airports, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu were cleared by the presidential task force (PTF) to resume international flights,” he said.

“Kano has resumed, Port Harcourt is almost there, just a few things to close and in the next couple of days, we expect Port Harcourt to be released for the resumption of international flights.

“Hopefully in a couple of weeks, Enugu airport will be on the list, making it a total of all five international airports in Nigeria resuming international operations.”