COVID-19: FG Exempts Six Categories Of Flights From Travel Ban

The federal government, on Monday, said six categories of flights or aircraft have been exempted from the travel restriction imposed on all international flights coming into Nigeria.

The federal government had earlier imposed the travel restriction on 13 countries with over 1,000 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The government subsequently shut all five international airports in the country to prevent further spread of COVID-19 into the country.

But the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said on Monday that some categories of aircrafts or flights had been exempted from the travel restriction.

Sirika spoke via his personal Twitter page (@HadiSirika) late Monday.

He said, “All Int’l Airports remain closed for 4 weeks as said, except for Aircraft in distress and overflights. The following are also exempted but with prior approval from Minister of Aviation in advance. 1. Humanitarian, Medical and Relief 2. Cargo 3. Technical 4. Alternate & 5. Safety

“Notices to be issued by NAMA & NCAA. It is important to note that in crises situation, single source of information is important. The public should rely on The Presidential Task Force (PTF COVID-19) headed by the SGF. Aviation, NCDC & other relevant MDA’s are members of the PTF.”