JUST IN: US nationals stranded in Lagos Airport over airspace permit

By Lawani Mikairu

American citizens who were scheduled to be evacuated from Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos were yesterday stranded at the airport.

The flight could not get clearance to fly over some countries whose airspace has been closed on its way to the United States of America. An airspace permit is needed before an aircraft can overfly any country.

The Americans who had already done the boarding formalities were later seen collecting their baggage from ” arrival baggage belts with the plan to go back home “.

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An official report said that the flight that was supposed to be operated by OMNI Air international as a chartered essential flight to evacuate the Americans were ‘canceled due to the inability of the airplane to over-fly some countries’.

Overflight permits are obtained from the Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs) of the country whose airspace will be overflown by a particular aircraft on its way to the final destination.

” These differ in terms of regulations and airspace coverage area, depending on the country. It’s always important to check over-flight permit requirements in advance with your 3rd-party provider for the planned route of flight”, according to a report.

Recall there has been a series of evacuation of different countries national in recent days. About 637 French and German citizens were on Wednesday evacuated from Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos by their governments.


Air France’s A330 airplane which was the first to land departed at 13.56hr while Lufthansa German Airline departed with her nationals at 15.46hr.

The evacuees were screened for the coronavirus by the airport officials before they were allowed to board their flights.

Vanguard

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