Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman, PTF-COVID-19, has called on Nigerians to disregard any “fake news” making the rounds, as the aviation sector was working out a protocol to resume international flight.
Mustapha, stated this at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, on Thursday in Abuja.
Recall that the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, had said that no resumption date was announced for international flight operations.
He urged Nigerians to be patient and await the real date for resumption of international flights as no date has been fixed yet.
According to him, “the aviation sector has been working assiduously to develop the protocols for the resumption of international air services.
“The PTF remains conscious of the significant contributions of air travels to economic growth and shall continue to push for a safe resumption.
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“The next phase is for aviation regulators to engage with stakeholders to facilitate an integrated and seamless resumption of international flights.
”I plead with all Nigerians to await the authentic information from the aviation authorities, discountenance fake news and speculation on dates,” Mustapha said.
However, there were reports that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had selected Oct. 15, as the resumption date for international flights.
Reacting, the Minister said that the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), only issued a routine 90-day notice to airmen (NOTAM).
According to him, “international flight resumption date is not October. NAMA just issued a routine 90-day notice to airmen (NOTAM).
“In liaison with the Health, Foreign Affairs & PTF COVID-19 (groups), we will announce the agreed date, regardless of the ban by Europe and UAE, maybe earlier than October,” Sirika said.