UK Govt Reacts To Nigeria’s Decision To Bans Flights From The Country

The government of the United Kingdom says there’s no going back on its decision to place Nigeria on a red list and ban flights from the country over Omicron threats.

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

Naija News recalls the government of Nigeria had threatened to take retaliatory action by Tuesday against countries that had placed a ban on flights from Nigeria over the Omicron variant.

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.

Earlier, the United Kingdom had banned all flights from Nigeria following the three cases of the Omicron Variant detected in the country.

This is coming after the Canadian government imposed a travel ban on Nigeria after detecting the variant from travellers who landed in the country from Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia also followed the line of the UK and Canada.

But amidst the diplomatic tension, the British government has come out to maintain there’s no going back on its earlier decision despite the threats from Nigeria.

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 f travel guidelines but in the immediate, nothing has changed.

“The UK Government propose sticking to our standard background lines on whether ‘x’ country will put us on the red list and avoid getting into hypothetical situations.

“The UK government has been clear that travel abroad will be different this year and countries may impose border measures at short notice in line with their own coronavirus policies.

“Travellers can also sign up for e-mail alerts on GOV.UK to get the latest updates as soon as they happen. We are in regular conversations with other countries about their travel policies,” Hurlock explained.