The federal government has shared an N4 billion aviation intervention fund among 18 scheduled and non-scheduled carriers.
The Guardian learned that the grant was thrown open to all operators with valid air operating certificates (AOCs) and distributed according to the size of the carriers. The parameters, however, made some ‘dead’ airlines beneficiaries of the COVID-19 stimulus package.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has placed a six-month ban on 100 Nigerian passport holders over alleged violation of safety protocols at the ports of entry. The committee, in a publication yesterday, made public the passport number of concerned citizens.
In response to the losses incurred during the lockdown, the Federal Government had last May hinted of a plan to bail out the airlines prior to restart. Flights resumed but nothing came in form of a bailout. (Guardian)