Dana introduces social distancing seating rule on resumption of flights
As FG extends closure of airspace
Nigeria’s domestic carriers have lost over N360 billion due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The accountable manager of Dana Air, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo who disclosed this in a statement said over 100 aircraft were lying idle nationwide.
“Domestic airlines have lost over N360b to this pandemic and still counting. We do not know when it will be over.
”There are charges, fees, allowances, salaries, aircraft leases, taxes all pending and over 100 aircraft parked nationwide without generating a dime.
“The VAT which contributes to the high cost of airfares is yet to be removed. These are the issues and the government needs to seriously consider helping airlines to survive this trying time.” he said.
Mbanuzuo also announced that the middle seats on all aircraft flights will be unoccupied upon resumption of services.
He said the no-passenger-in-the-middle-seat arrangement was in line with the social distancing guideline on Covid-19,
He said the airline will commence the initiative when operations resume, maintain it for a while and listen to the feedback from the airline’s customers.
“Majority of our aircraft are configured with mainly three seats in a row, on either side of the aisle. So when we resume flights anytime soon, we will keep the middle seats empty so passengers can sit on the window and aisle seats to ensure some physical distancing onboard all our flights.
”This is just to give our guests some sense of security about their health and well-being when flying with us immediately after the pandemic and it will be for some time. While we continue to review feedback from our guests on their thoughts, we believe it’s what customers might like to see,” he said.
Mbanuzuo also stated that “our first concern is the safety and well-being of our staff and customers and we have made firm arrangements to ensure that our thorough cleaning and disinfection program continues. We are taking this seriously as we do not know how long this will last.”
Meanwhile, the federal government announced the extension of the closure of the airspace and airports (both local and international) in the country by another two weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The minister of aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika who disclosed this yesterday via his twitter handle said the airports would no longer open for commercial operations on April 23 as earlier scheduled due to the extended lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun.
“As a result of the extension on lockdown by Mr. President, it is no longer possible for us to open our airspace and airports for normal operations by the 23rd April 2020. They will remain closed for a further 2 weeks”. ‘This subject to review as appropriate, please,” he tweeted.
