Tobias Sylvester
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika on Monday said food will no longer be served on domestic flights when operations resume on July 8, 2020.
Sirika, who announced this during the Presidential Taskforcenon COVID-19 in Abuja, explained that the decision was part of efforts to control the spread of the novel coronavirus on flights.
“For this domestic operation, there will be no food. No food will be given to reduce contamination level and we will allow you to come with your mask,” he said.
“Like the MD of FAAN had said the other day, we see it as your private thing. So it is you who will bring your mask, they don’t have to be the fancy ones.”
On how cabin crew came into existence, he said the cabin crew’s job was not to offer tea to passengers. Sarika said:
“Remember I told you on this platform that the cabin crew’s job is not to offer you tea. They came into the industry because of people who were getting air-sick so we thought we would be putting nurses in the airplane to look after those people who are sick. Since then, they metamorphosed and they became something new.
”They want to now give you tea because many people don’t get sick anymore, they give will either give you coffee, offer you food and drink and so on. So the main purpose of the cabin staff is to ensure that we all remain safe for your welfare and your health.”
We learnt that airline operators in the country including Allen Onyeama, Air Peace CEO, and Ado Sanusi, Aero Contractors CEO, said their airlines would no longer serve refreshments.
They said this would reduce contact between cabin crew and passengers, and it would also reduce the frequency with which flyers would remove their face masks.
Five days ago, Sirika announced new dates for the resumption of domestic flights after it was shutdown months ago to avoid the spread of coronavirus.
According to him, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja and the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos will commence operations on July 8.
