Nigeria’s
timely containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which has attracted huge
commendation from the international community, including the World Health
Organisation (WHO) is paying off, as air passenger traffic into and also out of
the country’s airports has been sustained, despite the outbreak of the disease
in July.
The
disease has however crippled air travel business in Sierra Leone, Liberia and
Guinea, where a total of about 1,400 deaths have been recorded since the recent
outbreak, leading to the cancellation of as much as 216 of the 590 monthly
international flights scheduled to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Official
Airline Guide (OAG), an airline data provider says.
However,
with only five deaths recorded in Nigeria, including the late Patrick Sawyer
(the index case) who imported the deadly disease into the country, analysts
observe that
inbound passenger traffic has been sustained, indication
confidence from the international community, regarding the country’s prompt and
proper response to the EVD incident.
“We
are yet to feel any significant impact of the dreaded Ebola disease in the
industry,” the country manager of a popular international airline, who
preferred anonymity, told to our reporter. He further said that though many
airlines have suspended operations to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which
are much more afflicted by EVD, the flow of passengers into Nigeria has remained unaltered.
Despite
warnings and explanations by WHO and
other health experts, that the risk of travellers in the same flight
contracting the deadly EVD remains very low because it can only be transferred
through body fluids or secretions such as blood, sweat, urine and saliva and is
not airborne, about one-third of international flights to the three most hit
West African countries have been cancelled in the past one month.
Kola
Olayinka, country commercial manager, British Airways, in response to questions
from BusinessDay, doused any apprehension of flight cancellation to Nigeria,
stating that the country is yet to be referred to as an Ebola-nation,
considering the aggressive approach of the Federal Government to contain the
disease.
Olayinka
said that after the late Sawyer gained access into the country through the
airport, all hands have been on deck to ensure such a scenario is not repeated.
This
he said has led to the installation of scanning equipment at some sections of
the airports, to allow officials thoroughly examine passengers coming into the
country.
Just
last week, the government of the United States donated equipment worth $5,000
to help boost screening capacity at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos.
The
new items include infrared non-contact thermometers and face shields. An
infrared thermometer is a portable handheld device with the ability to measure body temperature of in and out- bound
passengers.
Joff
Hawkins, US Consul-General in Nigeria, presenting the equipment, expressed
satisfaction with the timely response of the Nigerian Government to the
contagious disease, since its importation into the country by Patrick Sawyer
about a month ago.
Meanwhile,
South Africa Airways is set to increase its flight frequency between Lagos and
Johannesburg from seven to eight times
per week.
This,
the firm explained, is a direct response to increasing demand from passengers
for its services, and also in line with its mandate to draw the footprint of
integrating Africans within the continent.
Aaron
Munetsi, regional general manager for Africa & Middle East, South Africa
Airways, countered any notion of the carrier suspending its services to
Nigeria, explaining that the airline remains pleased with efforts of the
government to contain the disease.
On
the efforts of the airline to ensure it does not help spread the virus, Munetsi confirmed that
the carrier does not currently fly to any of the countries seriously hit by
Ebola.
He
also revealed that since the disease broke out, the airline has engaged its
staff in several training programmes on how best to ensure passengers are
adequately protected while on board.
“Our
staff have been trained to ensure passengers do not transit when they are sick,
infact they have been mandated to report any sick person trying to board the
flight to appropriate authorities,” he said, adding that as part of the
carrier’s protective measures, staff in direct contact with passengers from the
severely hit countries use protective measures such as gloves to protect
themselves from any possible infection.
Businessday
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