Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has stated it could not confirm the new date for re-opening of airports while stressing that every preparation to restart domestic flights will be subject to the approval of the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19.
Its director-general, Captain Musa Nuhu disclosed this at a webinar on Thursday, June 18, The Nation reports.
Nuhu said the regulator was working close with the PTF whose task it will be to unveil the new date.
He spoke through the director, consumer protection directorate, Abdullahi Usman, adding that it was working with airlines, the airport authority and other players in the sector to ascertain their level of compliance with the protocols designed for the restart of domestic flights.
He said: “We cannot confirm the new date for resumption of flight. The earlier date given was not sacrosanct. We need to get back to the Presidential Task Force on COVID -19 to affirm any new date.”
Some Nigerians have been calling on the government to reopen the airways, arguing that countries with a higher rate of coronavirus cases have opened up their countries.
Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, almost every country across the globe had imposed necessary restrictions to contain it.
Now, countries across Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and other regions have started to ease lockdown measures, and are gearing up to resume both domestic and international travels.
Recent media reports suggest that Nigerian airlines are reworking their operation manuals to comply with the guidelines.
Besides compliance with airworthiness checklist, most of the airlines are also trying to meet the health protocols rolled out by the NCAA.
One major protocol for passengers is that people coming to pick up arriving passengers are to remain in their car until the passenger exits the gate.
Recall that the federal government recently imposed a fine of N1million on a United Kingdom aircraft impounded for undertaking illegal commercial operations in Nigeria during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The impounded aircraft and detained crew of British operator, Flairjet, were found to have violated Nigeria civil aviation regulations.
Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, said the maximum penalty for each of the infractions was N500,000, totalling N1 million.
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