.. Says evacuation flight is huge economic deprivation, capital flight from Nigeria

The President of Aviation Round Table Safety Initiative, ART, Dr Gbenga Olowo has expressed concern on the endless flight evacuations before and during Covid 19 pandemic in the past six months.

Olowo who stated this in a paper he made available to the media titled : Is Evacuation replacing Commercial Flights ?, queried why evacuation flights is seemingly replacing commercial flights after the new travel protocols have been established, adding that all stake holders have complied with international set rules and people love to travel for various reasons.

Dr Olowo observed that evacuation flight tickets are presently sold higher and above regular commercial rates.

According to him: “To those of us in aviation , Evacuation flight should by definition be a rescue flight operation consequent of force majeur situation with cost borne by government during emergency and relatively short period of time. But this is not the case any more as operation is already entering the 6th month and counting .
These routine Evacuation flights especially to & from Nigeria via neighbouring countries (when travel across international borders is supposedly barned ) is a huge economic deprivation and capital flight from Nigeria”.

He continued that, “one wonders which direction this Covid19 new normal is pointing to after six months of empty treasuries of our airlines, airports and all allied services?”

Olowo noted that it is expedient for all economies (West African and African block ) in particular to immediately consider joint lifting of the travel barn rather than reinventing the wheel of bilateral air services agreement given that the new Control Protocols are working and implemented.