The Nigeria Civil Aviation Agency (NCAA) has announced the resumption of international flights at the Port Harcourt International Airport in River State.
The agency, however, said the resumption of international flights at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu will be announced in due course.
According to a letter dated May 4, 2021, signed by the NCAA director-general, Captain Musa Nuhu and addressed to all Aviation stakeholders and foreign airlines flying into Nigeria, with reference number NCAA/DG/AIR/11/16/309, the NCAA said the decision followed the announcement of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 on staggered resumption of international flights.
Recall that the federal government had on March 16, 2021, announced the dates for the resumption of international flight operations at Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu International Airports, which were shut down in 2020 as part of the measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, while speaking at a briefing of the defunct Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, had said Kano Airport would be reopened on April 5, 2021, Port Harcourt Airport would reopen on April 15, 2021, while the Enugu Airport would be reopened on May 3, 2021.
After the special flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Egypt Air on April 6, 2021, from Kano to Addis Ababa and Cairo respectively, international flight service was expected to have officially opened from the Kano Airport.