13th July, 2020
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said passengers on domestic flights are to arrive at the airport one hour, 30 minutes more before take-off.
Sirika announced this during the Presidential Task Force (PTF) briefing, on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja.
The review on arrival time is a reduction from the initial three hours standard set by the Ministry of Aviation and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) after the airports were reopened following the COVID-19 ban.
The minister explained that the reason for the review was because the planes have been sequenced in such a way that the crowd at the airports has been reduced drastically and hence, the decision to review the arrival time.
In a tweet on Monday, Sirika said “My colleagues and I have reviewed passenger facilitation at our airports, consequently I am happy to announce that, henceforth travellers are to arrive one hour and a half before their departure time for domestic flights.”
The minister also advised passengers to check-in online so as to reduce time spent checking in at the airport.
Airport operations were suspended in March to contain the spread of COVID-19 across the country.
Sirika, on July 1, announced that the Abuja and Lagos airports will resume on July 8, while Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Maiduguri airports will reopen on July 11.
Other airports are expected to reopen on Wednesday 15 July while the resumption date for international flights will be announced later.