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Business News of Friday, 29 May 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Four Nigerian airports to resume flight operations in a few days

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Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja; Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja; Aminu Kano Airport, Kano and the Port Harcourt Airport, Choba, Rivers State are expected to come to life in a few days.

NCAA Director-General, Captain Musa Nuhu stated this at a virtual event organised by the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative titled COVID-19: The Challenges and Opportunity for Nigeria’s Aviation Value Chain, During and Post.

Nuhu said the NCAA worked with representatives of airlines and ground handling companies before forwarding a proposal to the Minister of Aviation for approval.

The NCAA boss said: “We may resume domestic operations with four or five airports and we hope to expand as we get better. We don’t want to rush everything at the same time and get it choked up

“Every money is important and we cannot achieve the two-meter physical distance. We are hopeful in the next few days we can resolve those issues and allow the airlines to commence operations.

“We have made our suggestion and recommendations and we are awaiting feedback from the Ministry of Aviation.”

The regulator however released protocols for Nigeria-based crew operating international flights.

The crew members are now required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and observe Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) measures for the duration of their flights.

Nuhu, who announced the approval of the new protocols in a letter to airline operators, airports and other service providers, added that the crew members would not be quarantined but would undergo mandatory testing for COVID-19 every 14 days at the expense of their employers.

The protocols also state that airlines must have adequate stock of PPE, minimum 70% alcohol-based hand sanitizers and Universal Precaution Kits (UPK) onboard every aircraft.