BY BANYO TEMITAYO
THE Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has suspended Emirates Airlines from operating flights out of Nigeria for violating safety directives issued by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
The NCAA accused Emirates of airlifting passengers from Nigeria, using Rapid Antigen Tests (RDT) conducted by laboratories that were neither approved nor authorised.
This, according to a statement by the Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Musa Nuhu, violates Paragraph Five of a previous letter addressed to Emirates by the NCAA on February 2, 2021.
Owing to the violation, the Federal Government said Emirates Airlines would only be authorised to bring passengers into Nigeria, noting that outbound passengers were not authorised.
The letter announcing the suspension read in part, “It has been brought to the attention of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF) that Emirates has continued to airlift passengers from Nigeria using Rapid Antigen Tests (RDT) conducted by laboratories that are neither approved nor authorised.
“It is in violation of paragraph five of the NCAA letter of February 2, 2021, addressed to your good self. The paragraph clearly states:
“Based on the foregoing and to enable Nigerian passengers put in place needed infrastructures and logistics for COVID-19 RDT testing for departing passengers, the PTF has directed that Emirates Airline should either accept passengers without RDT, pending when the infrastructure and logistics are put in place, or suspend its flights to and from Nigeria until such a time when the required Infrastructure and logistics are fully established and implemented.
“Emirates Airlines has not been in compliance with the two options given by the PTF, as records obtained by the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) indicate that Emirates Airlines operated flights from Lagos and Abuja airports.”
A circular had been sent, on February 1, notifying passengers that Emirates Airlines would conduct a compulsory rapid test four hours before a scheduled flight.
