Home Business FG again bans Emirates Airlines, to reopen Kano, PH, Enugu Airports

FG again bans Emirates Airlines, to reopen Kano, PH, Enugu Airports

by Business News Report

The Federal Government has again suspended operations of Emirates Airlines in Nigeria pending the resolution of issues regarding the COVID-19 testing regime for outbound travellers. But Emirate was the airline that help convey Covid-19 to Nigeria from India. The government has also said it plans to reopen the Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu International Airports. Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce PTF on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha said this in Abuja during a briefing of the Taskforce. He said; “The discussions with the KLM and Emirates are still on-going on the issue of pre-boarding testing for passengers whose final destination of travel are in their home bases. KLM will resume outbound flights from Lagos from today, 15th March, 2021 without RDTs while a letter has been written to Emirates Airlines to suspend flights with effect from midnight Wednesday, 17th March, 2021. However, discussions are on-going to resolve the matter amicably.

“You will recall that at the beginning of the ban on international and domestic travels, airports in Nigeria were locked down. The major concern for the ban on international flights was to prevent importation of the virus. 

The ban has since been lifted after necessary infrastructure and personnel and systems were put in place in Lagos and Abuja airports. In order to further energise the economies of states in the North West, South-South and South East, a timetable has been prepared for the reopening of Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu international airports”. He noted that over the last few days, reports from all over the world have focused on the safety and side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine that is currently being rolled out in Nigeria.

According to the SGF, Nigerian authorities have tested and authorised the use of the vaccines because it is safe and efficacious. I however wish to reassure you that the Government of Nigeria shall always prioritise the health of Nigerians. The arrival of vaccines has not in anyway distracted us from pursuing the National Response to COVID-19 as originally conceptualised – test, detect, trace, isolate and treat. For the avoidance of doubt, the virus is very potent and people still get infected. It is also a fact that the vaccination process has only just began. It has been reported that some countries are recording a third wave of cases. We urge all Nigerians to recognize that we are not yet out of the woods. Therefore, the PTF shall continue to emphasis and promote the strict adherence to the NPIs”.

Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib explained the inability of the PTF to supply the vaccines to Kogi state, saying the cold chain stores for storage in the state were damaged during the #EndSARS protest. It promised to make the supplies as soon as the stores were fixed. The Taskforce assured that those who have taken their first jabs of the vaccines would receive the second jabs after about four weeks, saying research has shown that the longer the period before the second jab, the stronger the immune system.

On his part, Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika gave further reasons for the suspension of Emirates Airlines.

He said; “We have since opened Abuja and Lagos. There have been agitations for us to open Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano and of course, it takes tremendous amount of work and preparations and the management of this virus to be able to open other points of entry. Now that we have most things in place due to all of the work that has been done by the PTF we will be opening Enugu on May 3, Kano on April 5 and Port Harcourt on April 15 for international flights. Everything that should be in place would be put in place to ensure safe operations before the said dates. Regarding KLM and Emirates Airlines, at the time we resumed flights, these two airlines made demands that there will be PCR test for passengers within 72 hours of their flights and there will also be an antigen-based rapid test at the airports and also a PCR test on arrival in Dubai. These, Nigeria considered as countries-specific, discriminatory and not acceptable. It is devoid of any scientific reasoning because the virus itself will incubate at least within or after 72 hours. So, it sounds not correct for you to take a PCR test within 72 hours and take a rapid test before flight and seven hours later you take another test. 

“You are likely to show negative. And the reasons advanced at the time was that the PCR results were being faked. Well, PCR results are also faked in so many other countries including the countries in question. However, the PTF struggled to ensure that you can verify the authenticity of any PCR test conducted and therefore we gave the options to the two airlines to either have the PCR test 72 hours before departure or within 72 hours before departure and have a repeat PCR test on arrival or you have a rapid test before departure and have PCR on arrival but not a combination of all of the three because it does not make scientific sense. It makes facilitation of passengers very cumbersome and our work very difficult while passengers are going through unnecessary hardship. This was not acceptable. So, both airlines carried inbound passengers but not outbound passengers for the reasons they advanced, which did not make sense.

“We gave them the option to do what we think is safe and correct and KLM has accepted to bring passengers in and out with the conditions that we agree upon, that is, to have a PCR test within 72 hours. Emirates did not accept that position. So, we have asked that Emirates be banned from operations as from midnight on Wednesday and that has been communicated to them since yesterday. However, like the SGF said, if they will come back to us to resume like KLM has done, then they will also be allowed to continue. Otherwise, the status quo remains and they will be banned from both inbound and outbound flights. KLM has agreed to start immediately and therefore, they are allowed to do so”. He dismissed insinuations that it initially closed the Kano Airport on purpose, saying all actions of the PTF were based on scientific evidence.

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