The Federal Government revealed that the proposed reopening date for airlines in Nigeria, June 21, is no longer feasible. This was disclosed by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
Flights May Not Resume June 21 as Proposed: Reason
According to him, the sector is not prepared at the moment to resume full operations. He added that they will not resume until it is certified the sector will operate in a safe and organised manner.
Flights May Not Resume June 21 as Proposed: Plans
The Minister who was represented by the DG, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, confirmed that they are currently under intense pressure to reopen the operations of the sector. He also mentioned that the various quarters have made available their restart plans and it will be reviewed by NCAA before any decision can be made regarding reopening.
Still, at the PTF daily briefing, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire called the attention of Nigerians to the galloping increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country. He reminded the public that this simply means there will be an increase in fatality rate in the country. He, however, added that the majority of the fatality cases were people above the age off 50 with underlying health problems like diabetes, cancer and others. This means that this group of people should be protected especially at this time.
Flights May Not Resume June 21 as Proposed, Other Matters
Also, the PTF Coordinator, Dr Sani Aliyu made a call to Nigerians to keep to the guidelines as they should. he reiterated that flouting of the rules will no longer be tolerated.
Lai Mohammed who was also present at the daily briefing reminded Nigerians that contracting COVID-19 is not a death sentence. He encouraged everyone to keep following the guidelines.
They collectively noted that easing the lockdown in various sectors does not mean there is no more danger. It was done to accommodate the various informal sectors and also create a balance in the economy.
