FG to Enforce Principle of Reciprocity Against EU Nations, Bans their Flights from Nigeria

The Federal Government has declared it would enforce the principle of reciprocity in granting permission to airlines when international flight operations commence on August 29, 2020.

According to government officials, only nations that allow Nigeria’s flights into their countries would be allowed to do the same in and out of Nigeria.

Specifically, they said airlines from the European Union would not be allowed into Nigeria following the union decision to ban flights and visitors from Nigeria on July 1, 2020

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who was represented by Capt. Musa Nuhu, the Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority at Thursday’s briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said the nation’s current position was informed by the ban placed by some nations in Europe on flights from Nigeria.

He said, “On the list of countries (that are banned), we are working on the comprehensive list, but the main one that came up is when the EU opened their borders effective 1st July, Nigeria was among the list of 54 countries that were not allowed to enter the EU.

“To my understanding, as the situation changes, they are going to look at the list and change it. But so far, we don’t have any contrary information to that first one that Nigeria is banned from going to the EU.

“So, as we open our airspace, we are going to apply the issue of reciprocity to those (EU) countries.”

He noted that only a few flights would be permitted per day, saying they would operate as test runs of the protocols put in place to ensure a safe return to international operations.

Sirika added that airline companies would be informed on arrangements put in place to ensure the resumption of flights were hitch-free.