The 160 Nigerians evacuated from the United States by the federal government, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja yesterday, were put in seven well-spaced buses to ensure compliance with social distancing and taken to various locations to be quarantined for 14 days.
The 270-passenger-capacity Boeing 787 flight Number ET 509 with registration number ET-AOQ , which departed Newark (EWR) Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Saturday arrived at the Federal Capital Territory at about 11:05 am yesterday.
Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, was quoted as telling reporters that though the federal government had banned international flight, the exigency of the moment necessitated the approval of evacuation from both countries.
Hear him: “The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 is fully in charge, while the evacuation is being conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The role Ministry of Aviation is playing in this regard is to provide the facilities for them to land as the operators of the airport.
“The arrangements to bring them and to the airline are being handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While the Ministry of Health and the NCDC officials are of course on the ground for testing and evacuation of the Returnees to Isolation centres.”
The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York had, on behalf of the Nigerian Missions in the US, recently confirmed the one-way flight being arranged for the evacuation of Nigerians in the US to Abuja.
