Federal government has concluded plans to resume international flights for Enugu, Kano and Port-Harcourt.
The Minister of Finance, Hidi Sirika, made this known on Monday, in a weekly briefing at the presidential task force (PTF) on Covid-19, stating that airport will commenced operations for international flights on April 5, April 15, and May 3 respectively.
Some Nigerians have been soliciting government’s interference to reopen the international wing of the airports, since it was shut in 2020, as part of effort to curtail to curtail the spread of the pandemic.
However, the Minister had said the international flights was suspended in Kano, Enugu and Portharcourt as a result of health and security precautions.
A resolution bill was passed last week Wednesday by the House of Representatives asking the federal government to open Mallam Aminu airport for international flights.
The Minister said, “There have been agitations for us to open Portharcourt, Enugu, and Kano airports, and of course it takes a tremendous amount of work, appropriation in the management of this virus to be able to open one departure of other areas of entry.”
He stressed that the pandemic calls for precautionary measures which the management was doing its best to avert, adding that the closure of the airport was painful, as it affected the source of income as well as the means of paying staffs.
“So we shut the airport with great care, and when we shut down the airports we had to keep the running; otherwise, the facilities in there will get dilapidated for lack of usage. So, it is in our interest to keep them open, but unfortunately, we couldn’t because of our collective wealth and goods of the country, and those that do business with Nigeria, ” he said.
“Now that we have most of the things in place due to work by the PTF, we will be opening Enugu airport on the 3rd of May, we will be opening Kano on the 5th of April, and Portharcourt on the 15th of April 2021, for international flight.”
The Minister also assured that every necessary arrangement have been made to ensure smooth operations of the airports before the scheduled date.
Lolo Ijeoma Njoku reporting, Obinwannem News
