By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
President, National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, Nanta, Mrs Susan Akporiaye has called for COVID-19 rapid response tests on Nigerian passengers flying to Dubai as a way of checking the protocols excesses on passengers at Dubai Airport.
Akporiaye insisted that it is better for passengers to undergo the compulsory test before departure to avoid the disturbing latest covid 19 protocols from the Dubai Airport Authority.
She also expressed shock at the new rule that Nigerians bound to Dubai must fly only Emirates airlines, foreclosing and boxing out transit routes opportunities into Dubai from other carriers.
” We are studying the situation and consulting widely as the new travel restrictions may put additional financial pressures on Nigerian passengers and also create a monopolistic hold on the route.”
Indeed, we don’t know what is going on in the minds of other countries and their airlines, this distributing situation may trigger off retaliatory actions, she lamented.
She stated that the Dubai Airport Authority ought to ask other carriers and their home governments to set up COVID-19 rapid response antigen tests at their various airports to enable passengers on transit to undergo tests before flying into Dubai.
” We at Nanta believe that such gestures and arrangements will enhance the credibility of the additional COVID-19 protocols into Dubai and also encourage others in travel business to recover and contribute to building a global coalition against the impact of covid.”
NANTA decried the industry’s polarization by the Dubai initiative which includes ban on transit passengers from other airlines to Dubai, adding that the fear of under hand competition targeting other carriers by Emirates is gaining ground and causing palpable apprehension among travel trade operators and Nigerian travel community.
Worried by this development, NANTA commended the efforts of the government and airlines to help secure the lives of passengers and protect their citizens but decried the situation and call on the Minister of Aviation to intervenecalled on the Minister of Aviation to help intervene and interrogate the situation.
Effective February the Dubai airport Authority closes its facilities to others airlines, flying passengers from Nigeria except they fly Emirates airlines.
The rapid response antigen test can only be done in Lagos and Abuja with Dubai bound passengers from the two Nigerian cities, paying 36, 800 naira and 25, 800 naira respectively putting additional expenses on passengers.
This is in addition to the PCR test from approved laboratories by Nigerian Center for Disease Control ( NCDC) and the Presidential Task force.
