Presidential task force on COVID-19 has threatened to ban flights from the UAE and The Netherlands as a reciprocal action.
The task force said the ministry of aviation and its relevant agencies have been mandated to take the necessary reciprocal measures as may be permissible under the laws and other international obligations expected to be discharged against Emirates Airlines operating from the UAE and other airlines from The Netherlands.
Chairman of the task force who also doubles as secretary to the government of the federation Boss Mustapha disclosed this at the routine briefing of the committee in Abuja on Monday.
Mr Mustapha said: “For over a month, Nigeria has been engaged with the authorities of the UAE and The Netherlands over pre-departure testing requirements passengers should meet before travelling from Nigeria.”
Last month, the Federal Government banned Emirates temporarily because the airline violated COVID-19 preventive guidelines.
The airline accepted passengers for boarding that had rapid antigen COVID test certificates issued by laboratories not on the list of ones approved by the authorities.
UAE and The Netherlands face the ban on flying passengers out of Nigeria again because the airline had been using rapid COVID-19 tests on customers before they were allowed to board flights to Dubai.
The new rapid testing requirement is believed to have been added to address concerns that some passengers were presenting fraudulent PCR certificates to get around existing pre-flight testing rules.
Passengers travelling from Lagos and Abuja to Dubai are already required to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure and a second on arrival in Dubai.
