Coronavirus update: Nigeria airports dey prepare to reopen, but e no go be business as usual
Nigeria goment don announce say dem go reopen only five airports and flight operations go resume Saturday, June 21.
For inside statement wey di Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) release, apart from di five selected airports, all odas go remain closed for now. Dem also say Nigeria airspace dey closed to international flights. Wetin we sabi One of di first steps Nigerian goment take to check di spread of Covid 19, na to close di airspace to stop di importation of di virus from oda kontris. So on di 23rd of March, di goment shutdown all international airports for di kontri for four weeks; busy airports like Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja and Port Harcourt International Airport dey badly affected. But as di fight against Covid 19 enta top gear and just a day to make di order for airport closure expire, di Secretary to di goment of di Federation, Boss Mustapha come announce say goment don extend di airport closure for anoda four weeks. " We don check di aviation sector and conclude say wit di facts wey dey our domot and based on di advice of experts, di ban of all flights go extend for additional four weeks" SGF tok on di 6th of May. Dis one mean say by di time frame wey oga Boss give, di airports gatz begin operation by di 4th of June if notin happun. How travel fit be when airports re-open? Di Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, don begin fumigate all di International airports pending wen dem go open. Di tok-tok pesin for di agency, Henrietta Yakubu say di fumigation exercise na di first phase of decontamination of di airport and dat di second phase go open a week afta di airport open. She explain say even though di airport dey on shutdown, some kontris don use di airport cary dia pipo travel and dem don evacuate some Nigerians from oda kontris too through di airports and dat na im make dem dey clean am. Oga Henretta further yan say dem don also begin to mark di floor of di airports to make am easy for pipo to do social distancing. She say di marking wey dem dey do go epp passengers dem and guide on how to stand, adding dat di medical team wey don dey ground before go still dey do dia work and every passenger go must wear masks. On weda she tink say dem go soon extend di time, she say di order to open or not to open dey di hand of di minister of aviation. But di tok tok pesin to di ministry, James Odaudu say e no clear weda di airports go open as e depend on how di goment win di war against Covid-19. Tok tok pesin to di ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu say as e be now, di presidential taskforce on Covid-19 get di powers to tell wen di airports go fit open. Oga James say di minister don start to hold meetings wit oda stakeholders for di industry in preparation for di post covid era. And dat as e be, di aviation sector na im be di most affected sector for di kontri and di world and e no dey somehow if leaders for di sector neva start to think of how to re-position di industry. E say di sector dey loss close to 20 billion naira everi month and dat most workers no even get work again plus some of dem slash dia salary. Madam Henrietta say true -true di sector don loss plenti revenue and wetin Nigerians want na for goment to open di airport make pipo begin fit travel dia normal travel.