FG stops Emirate flights out of Nigeria

Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority,NCAA, has suspended Emirates from operating flights out  of Nigeria for violating COVID-19 directives and protocol as issued by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 ,PTF. According to a statement issued by   Captain Musa Nuhu, DG, NCAA, additional sanctions will be imposed on Emirates Airline for violating PTF directives and COVID-19 protocol. The statement also said that during the 72-hour leeway Emirates Airline is only authorised to bring in passengers into Nigeria as outbound passengers are not authorised. Captain Nuhu in the suspension letter sent to Emirates said : ” It has been brought to the attention of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) that Emirates has continued to airlift passengers from Nigeria using Rapid Antigen Tests (RDT) conducted by laboratories that are neither approved nor authorized.”

“It is in violation of paragraph five of the NCAA letter Of February 2, 2021 addressed to your good self. The paragraph clearly states: Based on the foregoing and to enable Nigerian passengers put in place needed infrastructures and logistics for COVID-19 RDT testing for departing passengers, the PTF has directed that Emirates Airline 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 by the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) indicate that Emirates airlines operated flights from Lagos and Abuja airports,” he said. It will be recalled that on February 1, Dubai sent a circular to air passengers requesting that Emirates Airline would have to conduct a compulsory rapid test  four hours before flight.

The federal Government has responded to Emirates action in stopping Nigeria flying to or through Dubai with other airlines. In a recent action Emirates had said that only flights originating from Nigeria by Emirates will be allowed to fly to Dubai. As a result the Nigerian government in a swift reaction has directed that outbound flights of Emirates Airlines from Nigeria have been suspended for 72-hour. A circular by NCAA, issued on February 4, said, the suspension followed a violation of guidelines placed by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19. 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”