Nigeria may ban flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Netherlands over the new boarding COVID test requirement placed on Nigerian travellers by these countries.
Under the new requirement, travellers are to do a rapid test at the airports in Lagos and Abuja four hours to their outbound flights.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, who disclosed this at the briefing by the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Monday, complained about the “extra requirement.”
“They are adding an extra requirement of having a rapid test done four hours before departure or before you board,” he said.
“For us, passengers do the test 72 hours before departure. The PTF recognises the rights of all countries to put in measures to protect their citizens just like Nigeria has done.
“If they insist on having these additional tests done, then PTF has decided that their operations will be suspended into Nigeria.”
He said these countries and airlines “cannot determine for Nigeria who to approve or how these tests will be done”.
