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OMOTAYO ARAOYE
Air passengers are to brace up for a 45 percent increase in airfares amongst new conditions on air travels when flights resume across the nation’s airports according to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
This directive on the increase was handed over to FAAN by the International Air Transport Association ( IATA) while the aviation authority will henceforth disallow escorts of Very Important Persons (VIPs) from following their principals to the terminals in the new rules owing to the current situation.
The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu, spoke at an aviation webinar by Women in Aviation (WIA) Nigeria themed, “Aviation: The New Norm in the post COVID” where she also informed that there will be delays and long hours of checks and re-checks at all the nation’s airports.
This is coming days after the Managing Director of Air Peace Airline, Allen Onyema gave the hint of pruning down operations and suspending inflight service onboard the airline’s domestic flights across its routes network.
At the WIA webinar moderated by the WIA President, Rejoice Ndudinachi that featured the Airport Manager South West Airports/Airport Manager, Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, Mrs. Victoria Shin-Aba, former Rector, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology, NCAT, Zaria and other women professionals in the industry, they said passengers should expect 45 percent increase in airfares.
“The c) said that there would be 45 percent increase in fares,” said Yakubu who informed of advanced arrangements to reopen the nation’s airports.
In the post-Covid-19 era, VIPs should also be prepared for health checks while passengers are advised to leave their homes in time before their flights to go through the various checks before entering the terminal and after.
“We are going to expect flight delays, flights will experience delays from checks and re-checks. If you are travelling, I will expect a potential traveller to leave home hours before his flight.
“There will be a lot of checks in the front of the terminal because we have been told that some activities and procedures will take place in front of the terminal.
“So air travelers are expected to leave home very early so that they can get to the airport on time,” she said.
According to Yakubu, COVID-19 has brought a lot of changes to air travel and to ensure the safety of passengers and airport users the way of doing things before has to change.
“The pandemic will make people cut down on non-essentials and lead to low demand of air travel,” she said.
Yakubu restated that social distancing would be observed at all the airports as well as temperature screening, wearing of face masks, disinfection of shoes and luggage of passengers regardless of personalities.
She said: “There will be floor markings indicating where each passenger will wait on the queue, arriving Passengers will also be subjected to temperature screening, physical distancing too will be observed while passengers are waiting by the carousel to pick up their luggage.
“Passengers are expected to arrive the airport with their face masks on, their luggage and pairs of shoes to be disinfected. Passengers are expected to observe to observe social/physical distancing.”
“Passengers will subject themselves to temperature screening and departure halls will be arranged in such a way that physical distancing too will be observed.”
The General Manager Customer Service/SERVICOM of FAAN, Mrs Ebele Okoye, read “riot act” to touts and loiters at the terminal building and outside, saying with COVID-19 there would be no room for them.
“ln reducing contact, the days of opening people’s bag at the airport to search what is inside should be done away with.
“I will urge all the airports to consider and make provision for different kinds of passengers, social distancing, adequate information and security and more importantly, social security.”
Okoye advised passengers to buy their tickets online, check in online and pay for their trolleys online to reduce the hours they would have to spend carrying out these activities and also save themselves the trouble of coming to the airport to buy tickets.
BADEJO ADEMUYIWA has 23 years experience as a Finance Writer, specialising in Insurance and Investigative Reporting.
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