UK Set To Lift Ban On Flights From Nigeria

The United Kingdom is set to lift the travel ban imposed on all flights from Nigeria and other countries placed on its red list.

Recall that the UK, Canada and Saudi Arabia had banned all flights from Nigeria following the three cases of the Omicron Variant detected in the country.

Reacting, the government of Nigeria threatened to take retaliatory action by Tuesday against the three countries for placing a travel ban on Nigeria.

Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika revealed on Sunday that the UK, Canada, and Saudi Arabia had until Tuesday to reverse their flight bans before Nigeria takes countermeasures.

While reacting to the threat on Sunday, the UK government said there’s no going back on its decision to place Nigeria on a red list and ban flights from the country over Omicron threats.

It stated that its position remains unchanged despite the threats by the Nigerian government to also ban flights from the country as a retaliatory measure.

The spokesman for the British High Commission, Dean Hurlock, told Punch that the decision of the government stands and will be enforced.

He added however that there are always constant reviews of travel guidelines but in the immediate, nothing has changed.

However, Daily Mail has revealed that the UK is about to scrap the travel ban imposed on countries and replace it with tests even for the fully vaccinated.

The report said Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, had convinced his colleagues that the ban should be replaced with testing.

“The move is expected to be approved this week”, The Mail on Sunday reported.