By Uche Mbah
After eight months, German Airline, Lufthansa, finally resumes flights into Lagos and Abuja. This comes since after the close-down of the Airspace due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
International flights had been suspended due to the lock-down, and the Nigerian airspace is being opened gradually. The last batch of opening involves European airlines. Lufthansa is one.
With this resumption, the airline also resumes eight entries a week flying into Abuja and Lagos. The Port Harcourt route had long been terminated on grounds of over use of IAITA quota.
Regulatory authorities, however, insist on strict observance of COVID 19 protocols. This becomes imperative given the fact that currently, Germany is experiencing the second wave of the pandemic.
‘’Lufthansa always was, and will stay dedicated to Nigeria, one of our key markets in Africa. As we have received the final permission to reopen our flight operations, we are happy to be the first airline to reconnect Nigeria directly to the centre of Europe and onward to all other continents.”
“We offer a considerable number of flights to the US and Canada, allowing our Nigerian guests to have family members and friends again at reach throughout the world. Health and safety continues to be our top priority and we are committed to maintain a strict adherence to hygiene regulations for all our flights,” Adenike Macaulay, General Manager Nigeria & Equatorial Guinea Lufthansa Group Airlines, was reported to have said.
It will first begin a three day a week trial – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – before returning to full flight schedule of five days a week, excluding Tuesdays and Sundays.
Every passenger must show evidence pf PCR test at least 120 hours before departure from Frankfurt, the destination hub. Returnees to Nigeria are expected to self-isolate for seven days after returning to the country.
COVID 19 protocols like mask wearing and social distancing are expected to be followed when inside the aircraft.
