The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has responded to claims that poorer Nigerians are being discriminated against under rules governing flights between the two countries.
Flight restrictions came under fire from Hadi Sirika, the Aviation Minister of Nigeria, after the GCAA announced its decision to allow only passengers travelling on Emirates from Nigeria entry to the UAE.
Sirika claimed this was an act of unwarranted discrimination against Nigerians that was inconsistent with scientific findings.
“The UAE was insistent that all passengers intending to visit its country must use Emirates Airline or spend two weeks in the alternative carrier’s country before gaining entrance to Dubai.
The majority of Nigerians are petty traders and the ticket of Emirates, in this case, may be higher than other airlines,” he said.
Sirika added: “We have gone the extra mile plus if you look at the rate of infection and the rate of people catching Covid-19 in Nigeria, we are far less than many other countries in the world which UAE did not apply that principle upon.”
“The protocol is country-specific and it is not acceptable by the agreement and convention that we signed with UAE.”
But the GCAA responded to Sirika’s statement, saying: “Over the course of the past 12 months, the UAE has introduced a variety of special measures to govern travel between the UAE and a number of countries. These measures have sometimes been tailored to the particular characteristics of certain areas, but they were always introduced with only one objective in mind: to ensure the health and wellbeing of citizens, residents, and visitors.
Nigeria’s minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
“These decisions have been taken after reviewing the prevalence of concerning variants, the number of passengers arriving from each country who subsequently test positive for Covid-19, and the integrity of domestic testing facilities.”
Both Sirika and the GCAA said that the two countries are in the process of coordinating a solution to the situation.
The GCAA added: “The UAE government continues to coordinate with the Nigerian government and to closely monitor the current situation, and will proceed with updated measures that are in the best interests of the safety and well-being of citizens, residents, and visitors.”
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