The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that upon resumption of flight operations at the airports, international passengers are expected to get to the airport at least 5 hours before departure, while domestic passengers would be expected to get to the airports at least 3 hours before departure.
This is to ensure that all protocols, including safety markings, social distancing, hand sanitizing, baggage decontamination, scanning of personal items and so on are complied with going forward.
This was disclosed by the Minister for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Saturday, June 27, 2020, during the dry test run simulation exercises which were carried out at the domestic terminals of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The simulation exercise was aimed at assessing the readiness of the airports for reopening after the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. It started in Abuja on a Boeing 737 Aerocontractors flight as the passengers were taken through the post COVID-19 departure protocols and ended at the General Aviation Terminal, Lagos at about 1200 hours.
The Aviation Minister said that the number of seats at the departure lounge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport had been reduced to 50 from 500 in line with the social distancing policy. He said all passengers must comply strictly with the directive on wearing of face masks before entering the airport terminals while the aviation authorities will provide alcohol-based hand sanitizers at the airports.
Sirika, also expressed his delight at the level of facilities on ground, while adding that going by the measures put in place, the airports are about 90% ready for reopening.