Chinedu Eze
The federal government has said the closure of all international airports in Nigeria would last for four weeks in order to curtail the spread of the COVID pandemic in the country.
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika made this known yesterday, saying that all international airports would remain closed for four weeks, except for aircraft in distress and over flights.
This was confirmed by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) which issued directive to both domestic and international airlines and reiterated government’s decision to shut the airports to international operations, noting however, that the condition was subject to review.
NCAA identified conditions in which flight operations could be allowed to take place during the aforementioned with prior approval from Minister of Aviation, to include humanitarian, medical and relief purposes.
NCAA also made it clear that during the period, cargo services would be allowed to take place as well as technical, safety or any of the airports used as alternate airport for emergency landing.
“Notices are to be issued by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) NCAA. It is important to note that in crisis situation, single source of information is important. The public should rely on The Presidential Task Force (PTF COVID-19) headed by the SGF (Secretary to the Government of the Federation), aviation, NCDC (Nigerian Centre for Disease Control) and other relevant MDA’s are members of the PTF.”
