Following the announcement by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on the partial resumption of international flights effective September 5, 2020, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued a new flight schedule which gives each operator only one frequency on approved day of operation.
This comes as international flights did not resume at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Saturday but would commence on Monday, September 7, according to authorities.
The Director General, NCAA, Musa S. Nuhu, in a letter to all airline operators explained that the requested schedule by airlines cannot be accommodated due to the limited number of approved incoming passengers allowed daily per airport.
“Kindly note due to the limited number of approved incoming passengers (1,280) allowed daily per each airport, it is not possible to accommodate the requested schedule of airlines,” Nuhu said in the letter.
“However, over the next few weeks as the number of allowed incoming passengers is increased, additional flight frequencies will be allocated to airlines in addition to accommodating any airline that meets the requirements for resumption of flight operations into Nigeria.
“This approved schedule is based on a maximum number of 200 passengers per each incoming flight to Nigeria. There is no limit on the number of outgoing passengers,” he said.
Nuhu stressed that each operator has only one frequency on approved day of operation irrespective of the capacity of aircraft utilised.
The flights are scheduled as follows:
Monday
Lagos: Turkish, Air Senegal, Virgin Atlantic, Qatar, AWA, Emirates, BA
Abuja: BA, Emirates, Ethiopian, ASKY, Air Cote d’Ivoire
Tuesday
Lagos: BA, Egypt Air, Ethiopian, ASKY, Kenya Airways, Air Cote d’Ivoire
Abuja: BA, Emirates, Ethiopian, AWA, Turkish
Wednesday
Lagos: Delta, Emirates, Air Senegal, Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, MEA
Abuja: BA, Emirates, Ethiopian, ASKY, Air Cote d’Ivoire, AWA
Thursday
Lagos: BA, Delta, Egypt Air, Virgin Atlantic Ethiopian, Qatar, AWA
Abuja: BA, Egypt Air, Emirates, AWA, Ethiopian, Turkish, Air Cote d’Ivoire
Friday
Lagos: Air Senegal, ASKY, Emirates, Turkish, AWA, Kenya Airways, MEA
Abuja: BA, Emirates, Ethiopian, ASKY, MEA
Saturday
Lagos: BA, Delta, Qatar, AWA, Kenya Airways, MEA, Air Cote d’Ivoire
Abuja: BA, Egypt Air, Emirates, Ethiopian, AWA, MEA, Turkish
Sunday
Lagos: Delta, Air Senegal, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, AWA, Kenya Airways, Turkish
Abuja: BA, Egypt Air, Emirates, Ethiopian, ASKY, Air Cote d’Ivoire
The minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika, had on Thursday during the Presidential Task Force briefing noted that only Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja and Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos would be allowed for international flight operations.
He said airlines approved are British Airways, Delta Airlines, Emirates, Qatar, Kenya, Airways and Middle East Airline, Egypt Air Emirate, Ethiopian Airline, AWA, Turkish Airline, Virgin Atlantic, Air Peace, Asky, Africa Ward Ghana, Air Cote d’lvoire,
Airlines that are not approved include Air France, KLM, Ethiad, RwandAir, Air Namibia, Air Almaroq, Lufthansa, Angola, South Africa Airways.
Sirika said that the airline approval was based on the foreign operator carrier operator permit which is the requirement by the law for every airline operating in Nigeria, the Covid-19 guideline by the PTF and other guidelines and restrictions from other countries.
