BREAKING: Local flights to resume June 21 – Sirika

The Minister for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has disclosed that airline operations within the country will resume on the 21st day of June.

Recall that on March 13, the Federal Government had shut all airports, following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

The minister, who made the disclosure on Monday during the presidential briefing on COVID-19, urged industry stakeholders should start developing protocols towards flight resumption.

“The aircrafts have been parked for three months, we have to ensure that within now and that time, these aeroplanes are good and safe to fly. The maintenance for aircrafts is either usage or calendar time,” he said.

Recall that on Saturday, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, had disclosed that only four airports would be opened when flight operations resume in the country.

Giving the updates at a virtual event organised by the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative, ART, on Saturday, the NCAA Director-General, Capt. Musa Nuhu, said only the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja; Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja; Aminu Kano Airport, Kano and the Port Harcourt Airport, Choba, Rivers State would be opened.

According to Mr Nuhu, said the decision to commence flight operations at the aforementioned airports was to avoid chocking the system, adding that the NCAA had consulted with representatives of airlines and ground handling companies to that effect.

“We may resume domestic operations with four or five airports and we hope to expand as we get better. We don’t want to rush everything at the same time and get it choked up.

“Every money is important and we cannot achieve the two-meter physical distance. We are hopeful in the next few days we can resolve those issues and allow the airlines to commence operations.

“We have made our suggestion and recommendations and we are awaiting feedback from the Ministry of Aviation,” Mr Nuhu noted.