The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has stated that airlines that violate the revised COVID-19 travel protocol will be fined $3,500 per passenger,
The regulatory agency made this known to all international airline operators in an All Operators Letter (AOL) on December 3, which was signed by the NCAA Director-General, Musa Nuhu, and posted on its website on Tuesday.
The Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 had released a revised provisional quarantine protocol for travelers entering or leaving the country, the new directive took effect from December 5 due to Omicron variant concerns.
The revised travel protocol states that all travelers are required to conduct “COVID-19 PCR test within 48hrs before departure, post-arrival day 2 COVID-19 PCR test, self-isolation for 7 days (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals), and day 7 post-arrival exit PCR test (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals)”.
It further stated that all outbound airline passengers should provide either valid evidence of full vaccination against COVID-19 or negative PCR test results within 48hrs from the time of boarding.
The NCAA also directed the airlines to make certain that the COVID-19 travelling protocols were strictly observed by its passengers.
NCAA also warned that recurring violation of these pre-boarding requirements could result in an outright ban.
“Non-compliance to these pre-boarding requirements by any airline will attract a penalty of $3,500 per passenger,” NCAA said.
“Airlines who consistently fail to comply with these requirements may be banned from coming to Nigeria.”
NCAA noted that aspects of the protocol for international flight operations other than provisional quarantine protocol for travelers arriving in Nigeria issued on July 1 still subsist.
