Airports authority gets Buhari’s approval to stop non-traveling aides of VIPs entering airport terminals

The Federal Ministry of Aviation has got President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval to make sure all aides of public office holders and other Very Important Personalities (VIPs) were not allowed entrance into the airport terminals.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on Monday during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja.

He said that except aides of public office holders and those of VIPs were traveling, they would no longer be allowed at airports.

The minister added that as commercial activities would resume Wednesday with flights to and from Abuja and Lagos, any passenger not wearing a face mask would not be allowed to board a flight.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved, and this is a very serious matter for us, that hitherto big men, especially military men, ministers, members of the National Assembly, governors and the judiciary are culprits.

Read also: AIRPORT REOPENING: Nigerian govt says anyone not travelling won’t be allowed inside terminal

“They have all these-their PAs and SAs, who are not travelling and they insist on taking them inside up to the aircraft. This will not be allowed; it will not be permitted and they will be stopped.”

He also said that firearms were not allowed at airports.

“An unruly passenger is not allowed to board our aircraft. Once you are an unruly passenger, the pilot will not move and you will be dropped. So by not wearing the mask, you will be classified as an unruly passenger,” Sirika said.

According to the minister the last cabin row in every aircraft would now be reserved as isolation centre for any passenger who exhibited COVID-19 signs.

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