The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has assured Nigerians that the expected re-opening of the airspace for domestic flights may not necessarily lead to a hike in fares. The minister made this known in a statement signed by Director, Public Affairs in the Ministry, made available to Transport Day.
According to the statement, the Minister who gave the assurance while responding to reporters’ questions at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 said the ministry has been meeting with stakeholders to come up with measures to cushion the effect of the pandemic on the industry.
“We are doing everything to ensure that ticket prices do not skyrocket. They may be different, but they are not going to be something that air passengers cannot afford”, he said.
The seats within the aircraft would be reconfigured to ensure that the virus is not spread among passengers at will should there be any carrier on board.
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Sirika also assured that aircraft would be thoroughly disinfected before passengers are allowed to board, saying the new airline passenger safety measures would be demonstrated to the public in Lagos very soon.
The PTF is expected to be briefed on Wednesday by the Aviation Minister on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) report regarding the readiness of the industry to resume operations.
This is according to the Director-General of the Agency, Captain Musa Nuhu at a virtual meeting of Aviation stakeholders over the weekend.
