Aviation Daily!

The Federal Government of Nigeria has increased available seats on the flights of international airlines to 200 passengers per aircraft operating into the two designated airports, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Musa Nuhu, the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), disclosed this in a statement in Lagos on Saturday. He communicated the approved capacity increase to all foreign airline operators flying into Nigeria through the Air Operators Letter (AOL) dated October 2, which is also the effective date of the updated flight schedules. “The Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos with the new update is to see on the average, 2,200 passengers daily, while the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, is to witness averagely, 1,400 passengers on daily basis. A total of 25, 200 seats per week is now available to foreign carriers to sell.’’ “You shall ensure that all flight operations are

 The first batch of regional and international flights landed in South Africa early on Thursday, as borders reopened after a more than six-month shutdown to limit the spread of coronavirus. German carrier Lufthansa was the first European airline to resume operations into the country, with a flight from Frankfurt landing at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International airport at 8.30 a.m. (0630 GMT). Planes also flew in from Kenya, Zambia, and neighboring Zimbabwe. Africa's most industrialized economy sealed its borders at the start of a strict anti-coronavirus lockdown on March 27. Restrictions on movement and business have been gradually eased since May, but international borders stayed shut to avoid importing the virus from abroad. The travel ban dealt a heavy blow to the tourist industry, which usually employs around 1.5 million people and contributes over 8.5 percent GDP, according to the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA). The group estimated in July that each day

 Emirates Airline has been added to the list of airlines which have been banned from operating in Nigeria. The ban took effect from the 21st of September. This was announced by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika in a social media statement Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Angolan TAG, Air Namibia, and Royal Air Maroc were not approved to operate flights into the country. Emirates airline joins the list of airlines not approved to operate in the country. The mega carrier has since commenced efforts to be approved once again by the federal government of Nigeria. The ban might be linked to the visa reciprocity agreement between Nigeria and the UAE.

The Middle East Airline (MEA), which took off from Beirut, Lebanon, made history as the first international flight to land anywhere in the country since March 2020 as it touched down at the MMIA at exactly 2.30p.m. The aircraft was ceremonially welcomed with a water cannon demonstration by the officials of the Aerodrome and Rescue Fire Fighters, a Department in the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). The officials of FAAN, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Port Health Services (PHS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other relevant agencies were on ground to attend to the passengers brought in by the airline. On arrival at the terminal, passengers presented their documents, including COVID-19 PCR test results for screening by the Port Health Services officials, while their travelling papers, passports and visas were handled by the immigration officials at the airport. However, there was no much work to be done by the officials on ground as the aircraft landed with just 200 p

In Preparation of the new resumption dates, the Nigerian government has announced the approved airlines allowed to fly into the country. The list of international airlines was announced by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, during a briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. According to Hon Sirika, only the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos will be opened on Saturday to receive International flights. The aviation minister said that the airlines denied flying approval include Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Royal line Morocco, Air Namibia, Etihad, and Rwanda Air. However, he also announced those airlines permitted to operate within the country’s airspace. They include British Airways, Emirates, Middle East Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic, Ethiopia, and Egypt Air. He said that the airlines are expected to operate within the COVID-19 protocols.

 I nternational flights, earlier scheduled to resume on August 29, will now commence on September 5. 2020 “Regret to announce that the international flight resumption earlier scheduled to resume on 29th August has been shifted to 5th September 2020,” the ministry of aviation tweeted on Thursday. President Muhammadu Buhari had in March ordered the suspension of international flights to stop further the spread of Covid 19 virus into the country. While local flights were also suspended, they resumed about five weeks ago as the country joined the rest of the world to battle the pandemic. The Director-General of the  Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority   (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, explained that the resumption was postponed to ensure all non-aviation logistics are put in place. Mr Nuhu while speaking at the bi-weekly Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing, on Thursday, said this is to ensure the smooth and efficient resumption of the flights.