FG extends suspension of flight operations by another 4 weeks

The Federal Government has extended the suspension of both local and international flight operations by another 4 weeks.

This was disclosed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation who also doubles as the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, during the daily briefing on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, in Abuja.

Boss Mustapha said that the ban was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, as still part of the measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. He also said that the decision was based on the assessment and advice from experts in the aviation industry to contain the spread of the virus.

READ ALSO: Covid-19- Are Nigerians ready to go cashless and help flatten the curve?

In his statement, Mustapha said, ‘’Tomorrow marks the last day for the enforcement of the closure of Nigeria’s airspace to flights. We have assessed the situation in the aviation industry and have come to the conclusion that given the facts available to us and based on the advice of experts, the ban on all flights will be extended for an additional four weeks’’.

The presidential task force Chairman also appealed to Nigerians to comply with the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

It can be recalled that the Federal Government on April 21, extended the closure of the airport by another 2 weeks. The government, however, disclosed that emergency and essential flights could be operated from any of the airports within the period.

Prior to this latest extension of the ban, flight operations were supposed to resume on Thursday.

READ ALSO: Ethiopia moves ahead of Nigeria, offers tax relief to firms affected by COVID-19

BREAKING: Presidential Task Force announcement just now, on behalf of @NigeriaGov: “The Ban on all flights will be extended for an additional 4 weeks.”

— tolu ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) May 6, 2020