FG suspends outbound Emirates flights

The outbound flights for Emirates Airlines from Nigeria have been hit with a 72-hour suspension by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

This is contained in a circular issued on February 4, 2021, which states that the suspension followed a violation of guidelines placed by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, The PUNCH learnt.

The airline is accused of airlifting passengers from Nigeria using rapid antigen tests done at laboratories which are not approved by regulatory authorities.

The circular read, “Based on the foregoing and to enable the Nigerian government to put in place the needed infrastructure and logistics for COVID-19 RDT testing for departing passengers, the PTF has directed that Emirates Airlines should either accept passengers without RDT pending when the infrastructure and logistics are put in place or suspend its flights to and from Nigeria until such a time when the required infrastructure and logistics are fully established and implemented.

“Emirates Airlines has not been in compliance with the two options given by the PTF as records obtained from Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) indicates that Emirates Airlines operated the flights from both Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.”