The federal government Thursday said the June 21 date for resumption of flights in some selected airports across the country is no longer feasible.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, at the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on the Control of COVID-19 in Abuja.
“The civil aviation authority despite pressures coming from all quarters will not approve the start any day until we are sure and we confirm that we are ready to start in a safe, secure, organised and efficient manner. To do otherwise is disastrous for all of us.
“If we open the industry when we are not ready, and we are guilty of spreading coronavirus, God forbid we have any incident, I believe the government will come hard on us and it is going to be counterproductive and disastrous for the industry.
“We are not too far, we are close but there is a need for timing to ensure that we are ready, positively, absolutely ready to start work,” he said.
The minister, who was represented by the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt Musa Nuhu, said genuine concerns have been raised by airline operators, the federal airports authority and other stakeholders.
He said inputs are also being received from the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the United Nations agency in charge of civil aviation, the World Health Organisation, the International Air Transport Association, the Airport Council International and the African Civil Aviation Commission.
“We have to adopt all these, it’s not easy; it’s a very complex process. What I can assure is that, the civil aviation authority will only give a go-ahead when we are ready, nothing further.
“We are looking towards the end of this month. Hopefully, by the end of next week, we will submit a report through the Ministry of Aviation to the Presidential Task Force for review. We know the industry is anxious but to do otherwise will be a great disservice and neglect of our statutory mandate from the government of Nigeria,” he said.
