Following the approval by the Federal Government for resumption of commercial international flights in Nigeria, some of the airlines have lamented and expressed low patronage.
The Federal Government had in March shut the Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kano airports on March 19, while the MMIA Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, were shut on March 23 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announced on Thursday that only the MMIA and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, were approved to commence international flights. He added that 14 airlines had been given approval to commence international flights while eight others were not given approval, for different reasons.
Three of the airlines with approval to commence operations, in an interview lamented that since the government announced the date for resumption of flights, bookings had been low.
The Commercial Manager, Nigeria, Virgin Atlantic, Mr Justin Bell, said it had been working closely with the regulators and the task force.
He added, “We will ensure social distancing. The airport is a lot quieter because of the restricted number of airlines. As you know, our flights depart in the morning and we will be probably be the only airline checking in, which is great because we have got lots of space for customers to spread out.
“It is fair to say the demand is definitely down. People are still nervous about travelling and business persons are basically telling us they are not going to travel for a while. Business clients have reduced. However, when we start in the coming weeks, we will do four flights a week. We are also carrying out cabin disinfection before every single flight. We are still in a competitive market and so it is difficult to say where the prices will go.”
Top officials of two other airlines, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also lamented that bookings had been low, as one of them noted that many people were still apprehensive about flying.
One of them said, “We will ensure compliance with the safety protocols. A number of the airlines have been dropped and so you expect the airports to be decongested. Customers will be expected to wear face masks except when they are eating. We are still providing meals but they will be presented slightly in a different way to reduce contacts. The demand at the moment is still low.”
The spokesperson for another foreign airline expressed optimism that patronage would increase in the coming weeks, noting that the figures had been low, despite the shift in the date of commencement of international flights
