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Nigeria lifts ban on Lufthansa, Air France, KLM
BY NICHOLAS ABE
The Federal Government has lifted the ban on European carriers, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM from flying into Nigeria.
Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, announced on his Twitter handle Tuesday that the international airlines which had been banned from operating flights into Nigeria, as reciprocal measure after the lockdown of the nation’s airspace, have now received the go ahead to resume.
The minister also disclosed that his ministry was working with relevant government agencies and the private sector to resume international flight operations at some of the country’s other airports outside of Lagos and Abuja.
READ: Nigeria bars KLM, Air France, Lufthansa as international flights resume
He said: “We are working with Ministry of Health, CACOVID & The PTF to open Kano, Port Harcourt & possibly Enugu airports before the end of the year. Also Lufthansa, Air France/KLM has been given go ahead to resume. Qatar Airways is approved to start Abuja. Thank you for your patience.”
The European carriers were barred from flying into Nigeria following order by the European Union to stop flights and travellers coming from Nigeria from entering Europe, in the heat of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, affected was the Dubai-based Emirates whose home government, United Arab Emirates (UAE) had placed a visa ban on Nigerian travellers. Emirates has however since resumed flights into Nigeria, following normalisation of relations with Nigeria by the UAE.