By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Travellers to Nigeria must be tested negative for coronavirus “within 96 hours before departure and preferably within 72 hours pre-boarding” in the latest guidelines on the resumption of international flights after five months of lockdown.
Airlines will be fined $3,500 per passenger for failure to comply with the requirements, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on its Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP).
The Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 Revised Quarantine Protocol added on its own website that
- At the time of boarding, all travelers will undergo thermal screening for fever and questioned for symptoms of COVID-19.
- Passengers with COVID-19 related signs and symptoms will not be allowed to board the flight.
- Airlines must only board passengers with test results showing that the tests were done within the stipulated 96 hours window before boarding
- Airlines that board passengers without a negative COVID-19 PCR tests or test results of more than 96 hours prior to boarding will be sanctioned.
- Non-Nigerians may be refused entry and returned to the point of embarkation at cost to the airline.
- Nigerians will be allowed entry but subjected to 14 days of mandatory quarantine at a facility approved by the government, at cost to the passenger(s).
The NCDC acknowledged challenges travellers encounter on the portal and said it is working with the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) and other stakeholders to resolve the issues.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has notified airlines that passengers to Nigeria who cannot pay for the test online can still board flights as long as they have a valid COVID-19 PCR negative test result.
It said the maximum number of passengers of each incoming international flight must be 200 passengers, but there is no limit on the number of outgoing passengers.
Passengers unable to pay for repeat tests online will be allowed to pay on arrival in Nigeria.
