17th November, 2020
Nigeria has granted Lufthansa and Air France/KLM the approval to resume international flights into the country.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, confirmed the development on Tuesday.
The minister also confirmed that Qatar Airways has been granted approval to resume flights to Abuja.
Sirika also hinted at the possibility of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport and Enugu Airport accommodating foreign travellers before the end of the year 2020.
“We are working with Ministry of Health, CACOVID & The PTF to open Kano, Port Harcourt & possibly Enugu airports before the end of the year. Also Lufthansa, Air France/KLM have been given go-ahead to resume. Qatar Airways is approved to start Abuja. Thank you for your patience,” Sirika stated on Twitter.
The Nigerian government barred some airlines from entering the West African nation as it resumed international flights operations in September.
Air France, KLM Royal Dutch, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, RwandAir, Air Namibia, Royal Air Maroc and TAAG Angola were affected.
Some of the airlines were denied permission to enter because Nigerians with tourist visas have been banned from entering those countries.
The ones that fell under this category were: Air France, KLM Royal Dutch, Lufthansa, and Etihad Airways.