Air fares will be affordable when flights resume- Sirika

Oru Leonard

Minister of Aviation in Nigeria, Hadi Sirika has said Monday that the expected re-opening of the airspace for domestic flights may not necessarily lead to a hike in fares.

Senator Sirika gave the assurance while responding to reporters’ questions at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and assured Nigerians that the ministry has been meeting with stakeholders to come up with measures to cushion the effect of the pandemic on the industry.

“We are doing everything to ensure that ticket prices do not skyrocket. They may be different, but they are not going to be something that air passengers cannot afford”, said Sirika.

He said the seats within the aircraft would be reconfigured to ensure that the virus is not spread among passengers at will should there be any carrier on board.

The Minister also assured that aircraft would be thoroughly disinfected before passengers are allowed to board, saying the new airline passenger safety measures would be demonstrated to the public in Lagos very soon.

The Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu said the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu at a virtual meeting of Aviation stakeholders over the weekend, revealed that the PTF is expected to be briefed on Wednesday by the Aviation Minister on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority report regarding the readiness of the industry to resume operations.