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The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria on Thursday held a virtual meeting with Munich International Airport to share experiences regarding the resumption of flight activities in the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown on the airports.
FAAN, in a statement on Thursday, said the meeting held at the instance of its Managing Director, Captain Rabiu Yadudu, and had in attendance the Munich Airport Experts Team, comprising of Herbert Keffel, Georgios Elkolids and Julian Duerdoth.
The meeting was called to assess the readiness of FAAN to gradually begin operations, following the June 21 timeline set by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19.
At the meeting, Yadudu stressed the need for FAAN to compare notes with other airports in the world in order to ensure safe travel.
He added that the regulator had begun to respond to guidelines set by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority for gradual airport reopening and post-COVID-19 operations.
FAAN hopes to strengthen its partnership with the German airport and enhance route development while boosting passenger confidence during flights.
The country’s airports and airspace were shut in March by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as part of efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has directed civil aviation authorities to determine the resumption of domestic flights in the country.
The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Sani Aliyu, stated this during a briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
Aliyu had on June 1 said “the aviation industry is requested to start developing protocols to allow for domestic flights to resume anytime from the 21st of June onwards.”
However, while giving an update on Thursday, he said the PTF was yet to receive any update from the aviation sector on its preparedness to restart commercial flight operations.
The national coordinator said, “What we said to the aviation authorities is; you need to let us know from the 21st of June onwards if you are ready to start opening the skies. We didn’t say 21st of June skies open.
“We gave them a window of three weeks to prepare and I believe they are still preparing. We did not ask them for updates on how things are going but we expect them to get back to us.”
