Emirates Nigerian flights suspended over Covid testing row

Nigeria has halted Emirates flights to and from Dubai following the airline's decision to increase Covid-19 testing on passengers from the West African state.
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Reuters reported that Nigeria's aviation minister Hadi Sirika said the airline had demanded passengers from Nigeria undertake three COVID-19 tests within 24 hours, leading the government to suspend its operations, with the exemption of cargo and humanitarian flights. "To make us go through three tests within 24 hours does not make sense. Since they insist, their operations remain suspended," Sirika told the news service.

In addition to requiring a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test before flying from Nigeria, the airline added an extra requirement of having a rapid test four hours before departure. 

 

Image: Emirates Airlines