The Federal Government yesterday lifted the suspension slammed on Emirates Airlines from operating outbound flights from Nigeria (Lagos and Abuja) for 72 hours, effective Thursday February 4, 2021, after the airline agreed to withdraw the COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing (RDT) for Nigerian passengers prior to the departure.
Due to the development, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 directed the immediate lifting of the suspension placed on the operations of Emirates Airlines in Nigeria.
The letter signed by the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu expected the airline to comply with the directives by the PTF on COVID-19 and other protocols of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“Emirates Airlines will be duly informed of ongoing enforcement actions by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority with regards to the established non-compliances to PTF directives and protocols as enumerated in our letter of February 4, 2021,” the letter read.
Similarly, the airline expressed its desire to continue flying to Nigeria as it thanked the authorities for their support.
It read, “Emirates can confirm that we will continue to operate services to Abuja and Lagos. We are strongly committed to Nigeria and would like to thank the local authorities for their trust and support. We look forward to continuing to safely connect our customers, and meet air travel demand from Nigeria to and through Dubai to Emirates’ global network.”
The federal government and the airline had been at loggerheads over additional COVID-19 examination made mandatory for the airline’s passengers.
The airline had late in January sent a circular to its passengers notifying them that it would conduct the compulsory rapid COVID-19 test, four hours before departure from Nigeria, as mandated by the UAE government, in addition to PCR tests done within 72 hours before leaving, at laboratories approved by the Nigerian government.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) rejected Emirates’ extra test and insisted that the airline may be stopped from operating out of Nigeria unless it drops the idea.