TheNewsGuru

Tag: Passengers

  • Photos: Low passenger turn out as airline resume domestic flights in Lagos, Abuja

    Photos: Low passenger turn out as airline resume domestic flights in Lagos, Abuja

    Following the Federal Government’s decision to re-open Lagos and Abuja airports for flight operations as part of the phased ease of the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19, flights have resumed today, Wednesday, at both airports.

    In Lagos, at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA 2) re-opened for domestic flights amid poor passenger turn out.

    Few passengers filed through security and health checks, with the departure hall looking scanty.

    However, an official of the Federal Airports Authority (FAAN), explained said the poor turn out is expected being the first time of operating after months of closure.

    Passengers were seen boarding the first commercial flight out of Lagos by Arik Air after the COVID-19 lockdown on Wednesday at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Arik Air is one of five domestic airlines initially granted permission to fly.

    Other airlines that operated from Lagos to Abuja include; Air Peace, Ibom Air and Max Air.

    Port Harcourt will be added to the schedule from Saturday, July 11, 2020.

    Flight operations were suspended in March following the escalation of coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.

  • Coronavirus: FG locates, isolates 55 passengers aboard flight with infected Italian

    Coronavirus: FG locates, isolates 55 passengers aboard flight with infected Italian

    The Federal Government has said it is now in contact with 55 of the passengers on board the aircraft that conveyed to Nigeria the Italian who tested positive to coronavirus.

    A total of 148 people were on board the Turkish Airline that conveyed the Italian who was on a short business trip to Lagos from Milan, Italy.

    Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and port health services of the Federal Ministry of Health were monitoring the temperature and possible appearance of symptoms of 55 of the 148 passengers on the manifest of the said flight.

    He said, however, that none of the passengers under watch had exhibited any symptom.

    Ehanire said: “Up till today, there have been no symptoms. We are also trying to look out for others and we hope every passenger on that Turkish Airline who have not yet been contacted will contact the NCDC on 0800970001 – 10. They should also continue to self-isolate.

    “Multi-sectoral emergency operation centre led by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) continues to coordinate national response activities.

    “Also, the national rapid response teams are supporting Lagos and Ogun states with the contact-tracing and other activities.”

    Earlier in the week, the minister had expressed worries that some people gave telephone numbers that did not work or were switched off.

    He said some others, particularly new arrivals in Nigeria who were yet to register with any phone company, might not have access to telephone.

    The minister added: “We are following up with 61 contacts of the index case; 21 in Lagos and 40 in Ogun State.

    “The contacts are under supervised self-isolation and states have provided them with temperature monitoring tools. All of them have remained symptom-free so far.

    “Between 7th of February and 5th of March, 2020, a total of 21 suspected cases were reported across four states in Nigeria, namely – Lagos, Ogun, FCT, and Kano. The index case we have in Lagos is stable, symptoms are mild and is being treated at the infectious disease hospital in Yaba, Lagos.

    “There is still only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Nigeria, which is the index case, and no death.

    “There were three new suspected cases between the 4th of March and 5th of March, 2020; out of these, two cases were negative and one result is pending.”

  • FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN: Nigeria unable to trace 158 passengers aboard plane with Coronavirus infested Italian

    FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN: Nigeria unable to trace 158 passengers aboard plane with Coronavirus infested Italian

    The Lagos State Government said it was yet to trace the 158 passengers aboard the Turkish airliner that flew in the Italian who is Nigeria’s index case of the virus.

    It restated that while some of the passengers had travelled to other states in Nigeria, others had gone back to Europe.

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated this during a meeting with chairmen of Local Government Councils, Local Council Development Areas, Community Development Associations and All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts on how to effectively prevent the spread of the virus.

    He added that some of the passengers who were contacted on the telephone, gave “false information.”

    “There were 25 people who came in contact with him at the factory(in Ogun State); there were two drivers and an ambulance driver. We have quarantined those identified so far at our medical facilities and some of them at home.

    “We are calling them twice a day to check if they are okay. If they develop symptoms, we will bring them to our bio-security facility for test.

    “We have identified all of these people except some of the people, on the aircraft who have either gone back to Europe or travelled to other states.

    “Some of them gave us false information on the telephone. We are still trying to find the remaining passengers on that aircraft every day. Our contact list is over 100 persons and this number is increasing every day.”

    Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said two more foreign nationals suspected to have been infected in Asia tested negative.

    He explained that 34 Nigerians the Italian had contact with in Lagos and Ogun States had been reached with some quarantined and others in close observation.

    The governor said:”There were 159 passengers in the aircraft and six people that came in contact with him at the airport.

    The governor said a series of medical examinations at the State’s bio-security facility conducted on the two foreign patients that were brought from Ogun State over the weekend, did not show any sign of COVID-19 infection.

    Sanwo-Olu told the gathering that the Italian was improving.

    He said: “We have called for this meeting as part of proactive measures we are taking to prevent the spread of Coronavirus to our local communities. It is no more news that we are managing a case in Lagos, but the situation does not call for panic.

    “We don’t want to record any loss of life to this virus. My administration places premium value on human life, which is the reason we have upgraded facilities at our bio-security centre and Infectious Disease Hospital.

    “But, we believe we will achieve better results in this effort if people at the grassroots are properly sensitised on how to protect their communities from the virus and other contagious diseases.

    “Government is doing its best to stop coronavirus, but Government cannot do it alone. It requires collective responsible of everybody living in Lagos to stop the virus

    He said the government would maintain open line of communication with the public on the progress being made in containing the virus.

  • Passengers stranded as petroleum tanker explodes on Lagos-Ibadan expressway

    Passengers stranded as petroleum tanker explodes on Lagos-Ibadan expressway

    A large number of motorists and commuters were yesterday night held up in a gridlock caused by petroleum tanker explosion near the Kara Bridge, outward the Lagos end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    While the motorists could not abandon their vehicles, many commuters, however, resorted to trekking on the other lane inward Lagos.

    The tanker fell and went up in flames on the long bridge at a crucial period when there is an influx of commuters on the road returning from work in Lagos.

    The incident occurred at about 7:15p.m. and saw many motorists scampering to safety to avoid being caught up in the explosion. Shortly after, another terrible accident occurred at Magboro road bend/diversion inward Lagos involving a truck carrying tomatoes and some vehicles.

    It was observed that from the scene of the incident in Ogun State, the traffic stretched to Ogudu and Ikeja areas of Lagos State due to wild fire.

    According to reports, firefighters managed to arrive the scene at about 8:30p.m. about an hour after the explosion made frantic efforts to put out the fire while operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) ensured free of traffic.

    The number of casualty could however not be ascertained as at press time.

  • Two Diamond Princess passengers die of coronavirus in Japan

    Two Diamond Princess passengers die of coronavirus in Japan

    Two passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have died after contracting the new coronavirus.

    An 87-year-old man and an 84-year-old woman, both Japanese, died after being brought to hospital from the ship, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday, citing government sources.

    It brings up the number of deaths from the virus to three in Japan.

    The deaths came a day after passengers started to leave the ship, which was quarantined in a Japanese port for two weeks over a Covid-19 outbreak on board.

    More than 620 of the passengers on the Diamond Princess liner have been infected on the ship, which has been quarantined since Feb. 3, initially with about 3,700 people on board.

    The 87-year-old man had suffered from heart ailments and bronchitis.

    Both tested positive for the virus although the woman’s cause of death was listed as pneumonia, the health ministry said.

    It added that one health ministry official and another from the Cabinet Secretariat were confirmed to be infected with the virus after both had spent time working on the Diamond Princess.

    Three officials had previously been infected.

    Japanese media reported that 29 people were in serious condition, including one who had earlier tested negative for the virus, which the health ministry could not immediately confirm.

    Japan has well over half the known cases outside China due to the ship infections and the rapid spread of the virus and the quarantine operation has sparked criticism of authorities just months before Tokyo is due to host the Summer Olympics.

    Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga defended Japan’s efforts.

    He told a news conference that after measures were put in place to isolate passengers on Feb. 5, the number of new infections was now almost at zero.

    Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said in a report issued on Wednesday that no new cases of the onset of the COVID-19 disease from the cruise ship were reported on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 and only one crew member case on Feb. 15.

    In a move to reassure the public, the health ministry also issued a statement in both English and Japanese that all passengers had been required to stay in their cabins since Feb. 5 to contain the virus.

    The day before, as passengers were being screened, shipboard events continued, including dances and quiz games.

    Criticism of the government has played out in social media as well as in parliament. (dpa/NAN)

  • JUST IN: 321 British Airways passengers stranded in Abuja

    Some passengers of British Airways enroute London and United States of America (USA) to Lagos, Nigeria have called for compensation from the airline for abandoning them in Abuja.

    Some of them who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday, described the development as `unacceptable’.

    Mrs Chinelo Etiaba, a passenger from London, said the airline did not provide adequate information for the passengers.

    “We arrived on BA yesterday evening from London to Abuja, they could not land in Lagos which was the reason why they brought us here and we got here about 7 a.m..

    “It took them about four hours to get us to Sheraton. We got to Sheraton, there were no rooms because they did not make adequate provision.

    “Right now, they asked us to get to the airport with no means of transportation. We know that it is not BA’s fault that the weather was unmanageable but the least they could have done was to keep us updated.

    “We are over 300 passengers and they provided only two buses. How are we going to get 321 people to the airport which is about 45 minutes from here to board a flight that is supposed to leave at 2. 45pm.

    “There were three girls that are supposed to be meeting somebody in Lagos, they knew no one in Abuja so I had to pay for them and I also paid for my cab because the bus could not carry them,’’ she said.

    Chief Young Ewina, a passenger from London, described the services from the airline as substandard.

    Ewina said that although he was on medication, he had not been able to access the medication which was on board the flight.

    “BA just abandoned us here. They did not even provide transportation for some of us from the airport. They said we should come to Sheraton hotel, we all came here but they made arrangement for less than 200 people.

    “Out of the 321 passengers, we all slept outside and we have elderly people here. We are on medication and they said paramedics will be here, but there is nothing like that,’’ he lamented.

    Ms Theresa Nwabueze, also a passenger from London, said the airline should have a contingency plan for its passengers.

    “What am saying is that BA is taking us for granted. We were not meant to be here in Abuja. We booked our flight from London to Lagos.

    “We understand that the weather made us come here but when we came here, they just left us to fend for ourselves which is not acceptable and now, they have sent us text to be at the airport now and there is no bus to take us there.

    “People are paying for taxi to get to the airport. I haven’t got money, I did not plan for this and if BA has decided to leave us here, they should make a contingency plan for us.

    “If they have the capacity to carry a flight of 321 people, they should have a plan for that in case if anything happens.

    “We are not accepting this, we have been treated like slaves in our own country,’’ she lamented.

    Reacting to the passengers’ complaints, Mr Babatunde Irukera, the Director-General of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), said he had contacted the airline about the situation.

    Irukera said that although the airline had made enough arrangement to transport everyone from the hotel to Lagos, the commission would issue summons to them.

    “Our understanding is that the flight to Lagos will depart momentarily. BA has made arrangement to transport everyone from here to the airport.

    “However, with respect to what has happened in the intervening hours, we are already issuing summons to British Airline.

    “I understand that there has been technical difficulties, weather related problems with landing flights in Lagos. On the account of that, British airways diverted their flight to Abuja which is understandable.

    “What seem to have been the problems have been managing the process with respect to sensitivity and responsiveness to passengers,’’ he explained.

    He called on airline operators to wrap-up their crisis management and responsiveness apparatus to priotise their passengers’ feelings.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that no official of the airline was on ground to answer questions from the media at the time of this report.

  • 135 passengers escape death in another plane accident

    135 passengers escape death in another plane accident

    A Caspian Airlines plane skid off the runway onto a highway on landing at an airport in southwestern Iran on Monday.

    But all passengers were evacuated without injury, Iranian state media reported.

    “It ran out of runway when landing at Mahshahr airport with no casualties,’’ state news agency, IRNA, said.

    Some other Iranian media outlets reported 135 passengers and seven crew members were on board, however, there was no official confirmation.

    IRNA, quoting local aviation officials, said a technical issue delayed the plane’s landing, which caused the accident.

    Read Also: Iran seeks help reading downed plane’s black boxes in new standoff
    Iranian media reported that the pilot was unable to deploy the landing gear, adding that the incident was being investigated.

    “The plane did not catch fire and all passengers safely left the plane,’’ Managing Director of Khuzestan Airports, Mohammad Reza Rezaei, told IRNA.

    On Saturday, an Iranian aeroplane en-route from Tehran to Istanbul made an emergency landing at a Tehran airport because of a technical problem.

  • Coronavirus: FG orders screening of passengers at airports, borders

    The Federal Government has ordered that passengers coming into the country through the airports, borders and other points of entries be thoroughly screened.

    This is to prevent the spread of the new deadly virus, coronavirus (2019nCoV), currently ravaging China.

    The government directive was in a public health advisory on the coronavirus (nCoV) issued yesterday in Abuja by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

    It followed series of consultations to ascertain the nature and impact of the virus.

    Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday convened an emergency committee meeting to determine whether or not the outbreak of the virus should be declared a Public Health Event of International Concern (PHEIC).

    According to the health advisory, the disease control centre said the Port Health Services unit of the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria had been placed on alert and heightened screening measures at the points of entry.

    It said that exit screening measures in China have been enhanced for travellers from Wuhan city in China, at the Points of Entry (PoE) (airports and ground transport stations) since January 14, 2020.

    “The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is currently coordinating a multi-sectoral technical group that is assessing and managing the risk of importation to Nigeria. NCDC is in close communication with the WHO, which is closely monitoring the situation globally,” it said.

    Urging Nigerians to remain calm and cautious, the NCDC advised travellers from the country into Wuhan, China, to avoid contact with sick people, animals (alive or dead) and animal markets.

    It said travellers from Wuhan to Nigeria may be asked questions upon arrival by the Port Health Services unit at points of entry about symptoms of illness and travel history.

    The agency advised travellers to report immediately to NCDC, if they feel ill after a trip to Wuhan.

    “Federal Ministry of Health, through NCDC and its partners, are fully committed to strengthening our preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks. Information will be shared with the public as it becomes available,” the health advisory said.

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has urged passengers and other airport users to comply with quarantine procedures at the nation’s airports.

    This, the agency said, would protect them from the Coronavirus epidemic ravaging some countries in South East Asia.

    FAAN said the new move became necessary to prevent the spread of such communicable disease into Nigeria.

    In a statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, the authority said it had taken proactive steps by ensuring that equipment and personnel used in combatting the deadly Ebola virus in 2014 were still in place at airports.

    The spokesperson said FAAN had always had thermal scanners at its airports to monitor the temperature of passengers as well as capture their pictures.

    “When passengers walk pass the scanner, it registers their temperature and if too high, they are pulled aside for observation,” she said.

  • Coronavirus: FAAN advises passengers on safety measures

    Coronavirus: FAAN advises passengers on safety measures

    In an effort to protect passengers from the Corona Virus epidemic ravaging some countries in South East Asia Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has urged passengers and other airport users to comply with all quarantine procedures at the nation’s airports.

    FAAN said the new move became necessary to prevent the spread of such communicable disease into Nigeria.
    In a statement it’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu said the authority had already taken proactive steps by ensuring that equipment and personnel used in combatting the deadly ebola virus in 2014 were still in place at airports.

    She said FAAN had always had thermal scanners in her airports that monitors the temperature of passengers as well as capture their pictures.

    She said:” When passengers walk pass the scanner, it registers their temperature and If too high, they are pulled aside for observation.”

    Recently, a deadly virus known as CORONAVIRUS broke out in China and has since killed six people, with over 300 reportedly infected.

    The highly communicable virus has already spread to border countries including Japan, Thailand and South Korea.

    Mrs Yakubu said:” The Authority, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, has confirmed the adequacy of the facilities at the nation’s airports to prevent the importation of the virus through the airports.

    ” Passengers are therefore advised to submit themselves for routine quarantine checks whenever they are asked to. “

  • All passengers, crew members on crashed plane dead

    All passengers, crew members on crashed plane dead

    There was no survivor in the Ukrainian Airlines plane that crashed few minutes after taking off from Tehran’s international airport on Wednesday.

    All the 176 people on board, including nine crew members died, Iran state media reported.

    The Boeing 737-800 had left Tehran’s international airport bound for Kiev, semi-official news agency ISNA said.

    “Obviously it is impossible that passengers” on flight PS-752 are alive, Red Crescent head Morteza Salimi told semi-official news agency ISNA, adding that 170 passengers and crew had boarded the plane.

    Body parts being carted away at site of Ukrainian Airlines plane crash

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed all those on board the plane were killed.

    “According to preliminary data, all passengers and crew members are dead,” he wrote on Facebook of the Ukraine International Airlines plane, which was bound for Kiev.

    Image grab of the video of the Ukrainian Airlines plane crash in Tehran showing it on fire

    The Red Crescent said teams were assisted by soldiers and firefighters in the effort to recover bodies.

    “After six o’clock (0230 GMT) this morning we were informed that a passenger plane crashed in the vicinity of Shahriar,” said Shahin Fathi, the head of its search and rescue unit.

    “All operational teams were dispatched to the area,” he told state television. “Unfortunately… we haven’t found anyone alive.”

    “Everyone is helping so that we can gather all the bodies that have been scattered in a wide area,” said Fathi.

    Press TV, state television’s English-language news broadcaster, said the plane went down in the vicinity of Parand, a city in Tehran province.

    The crash was likely to have been caused by “technical difficulties”, it reported, citing Ali Khashani, spokesman for Imam Khomeini International Airport.

    “The plane caught fire after crashing,” said Press TV. A video aired by the state media broadcaster appeared to show the plane already on fire, falling from the sky.

    American airline manufacturer Boeing tweeted: “We are aware of the media reports out of Iran and we are gathering more information.”

    The crash came shortly after Iran said it fired missiles at Iraqi bases in revenge for the killing of one of the Islamic republic’s top military commanders in a US drone strike on Friday.

    Following the missile strikes, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was banning US-registered carriers from flying over Iraq, Iran and the Gulf after rocket attacks on US forces in Iraq.