Reopening of Airspace: Getting Nigeria ready for global best practice

AFTER so much anxiety and preparations by Airlines and other Air travel stakeholders, the Federal Government, through its Aviation Ministry, postponed yet again, resumption of international flights into the nation’s airspace.

Closed on March 23, 2020 to air traffic, Nigeria’s airspace had been scheduled to reopen on August 29, 2020. Only essential overseas flights, carrying drugs and personnel to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa’s most populous country, were allowed to operate during the period of the shutdown.

The reasons for the postponement may not be unconnected with the various aviation protocols that are required to be adhered to, in addition to the new covid-19 safety protocols as explained by Chris Aligbe. “The dates had to be moved because of logistics reasons. It is not fully explained, but the fact of the matter is that a lot of preparations have to be done to ensure that the ICAO protocols, NCAA protocols… the Presidential Committee handling this entire issue of covid 19 challenges will also have their protocols which have to be followed.” Aligbe said

According to the former General Manager (Public Affairs), Nigeria Airways Limited, the delay in opening up the airports is also due to the fact that Aviation is a global concern that connects countries, so, the need to ensure that airspace and air flight, among other aeronautic, logistics, are right.  Countries need to be sure the conditions are right before they can open their airspace.

Anxious to resume international operations of their businesses, or to meet other personal and familial obligations, lots of Nigerians have been putting pressure on the federal government to open the airports to foreign flight operations. Aligbe noted that the pressure is expected but in Aviation, “processes, protocols and procedures” have to be followed.

“You can do everything that is needed for you to be ready as a nation, but you need to be sure that the country through which flights will be coming into your country, have the right conditions and that they are compliant with the protocols,” stated Aligbe.

He continued: “You also need to check if there are amendments you may have to make, in order to have safe flights between both countries. Yes, a lot of people are anxious to travel but airline busines is not run by pressure; neither is it done under pressure. If we are not ready, we are not just ready and that is it.”

Responding to the ban placed on flights from Nigeria by the Council of the European Union, which recently reopened its airspace to 15 countries, Nigeria enforced her right to the principle of reciprocity in granting permission to airlines to resume operations into the country as she prepares to open her airspace.

What this means is that only airlines from countries that allow flights from Nigeria will be allowed to fly into and out of Nigeria and, government was specific about disallowing airlines from European Union.

Airline operations fall under four diplomatic protocols and within such setting, principle of reciprocity is entrenched to give nations the right to respond appropriately to gestures by nations with which they have bi-lateral air space agreements.

“If countries, for one reason or the other say you cannot come into their country, it means also, you cannot go there and so, for that reason, if they don’t open up to you, you cannot, likewise, open up to them…” said Aligbe.

At less than 60,000 rates of infections, and with far less than 2,000 covid-19 deaths, Nigeria’s profile in relation to the ravaging coronavirus pandemic, is very low. This is why, like many Nigerians, the Chief Operating Officer, VIVANTE Media Services, which consults for key aviation stakeholders in the country, is surprised that nations with far higher covid-19 infection and death rate, would include Nigeria in the list of 54 countries prevented from flying into the EU.

“To my understanding, as the situation changes, they are going to look at the list and change it. But so far, we don’t have any contrary information to that first one that Nigeria is banned from going to the EU.”

Aviation Minister Haidi Sirika, said when Nigeria eventually opens up for full international flights, airlines would be informed on arrangements that had been put in place to ensure that resumption of flights is hitch-free. For now only a few flights per day would be permitted, he said, adding that they would operate as test runs of the protocols put in place to ensure the safe return to international operations.

The guiding protocols would be made public in due course, stated the minister. According to him, only 1,280 inbound international passengers would be allowed to fly into Lagos and Abuja airports when international flights resume.

Going abroad post-covid… A cocktail of protocols and tests

AS countries begin to slowly reopen in the wake of Covid-19, airports, all over the world, are looking at what it will take to make passengers feel comfortable in their facilities. That will definitely include lots of work as over 70 different areas in a passenger’s journey are expected to either change or be introduced from scratch.

In addition to requiring travelers and employees wear face masks, airports are expected to examine how to familiarise every aspect of its operations to a post-COVID-19 world.

In some countries, the first major change travelers will experience  as they enter the Terminals, is that non-fliers may likely not be allowed inside.

Regine Weston, America’s airport planning leader for engineering firm Arup, which has worked on hubs like Beijing Capital International Airport, London’s Heathrow, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson, said people coming into airports are  likely to see a restriction to passengers only.

In an interview published in the August 5, 2020 edition of Conde Nast Traveler, an online publication, Weston said to ensure safety from the spread of the pandemic, the only people airport managers have to deal with would be those flying.

“This rule, already in place at airports like Los Angeles International, will make exceptions for unaccompanied minors or others who need assistance,” Weston hinted.

Passengers would also be required to pass through a disinfection tunnel and thermal scanners when entering the airport. There are sanitizer walk-through machines now on sale.

What this means is that only those ‘fit to fly’ will be allowed to enter. Thermal cameras, which are able to scan a crowd for a feverish temperature, are already in use at several facilities, including London’s Heathrow, Puerto Rico’s San Juan airport, and Paine Field—a secondary airport in Seattle.

Once in the airport, travelers will see touchless options for checking in, a service that was previously available in a handful of terminals, like the Delta terminal in Atlanta, which operates an all-biometric check-in system.

As Weston posited, the technology is certain to become a common feature at most Airports.

“You can go to a kiosk to check in using your face as [identification], and you can get your bag tag; you can then go to a self-bag drop machine and drop your bag. For the check-in process, the technology already exists to do that without having to interact with any airline or airport personnel,”  she said.

After it is dropped off by the passenger, luggage may also be put through a fogging tunnel to be disinfected.

Another long-term option, according to Weston, will be to make available parking garages into check-in area and screening centers.

According to airport designer and principal aviation architect at Gensler firm Gensler, Ty Osbaugh, garages that are directly connected to terminals present the ideal place to house processes such as check-in, security screening, and crowd control, providing new distance controls and passenger flow metering, while also freeing the existing terminal to house more passenger amenities in a less densified arrangement.

In the area of airport security, anyone who has flown during summer or the holiday season knows that TSA lines can be one of the most crowded places in the airport. That will have to change in a post-COVID-19 world.

One interesting alternative, Weston proffered, is to have passengers book essentially an appointment to go through security screening. Montreal airport, she said, has been using one such system for several years, in which passengers signup online for a specific time slot to pass through the security checkpoint.

“I can see that and even more sophisticated versions becoming more widespread so that the actual area that’s dedicated for security screening is able to exist without crowding,” she said.

As the most efficient way of conducting temperature checks, Thermal cameras are currently being utilised in multiple airports as  additional health screening mechanisms.

 Said Weston, however, although they’re effective, because they’re not visible to the public, the thermal camera may not fully restore passengers’ confidence.

In its place, she reasons passengers are more likely to  be screened with handheld, no-contact infrared thermometers once large-scale air travel starts up in a major way.

After touchdown and upon arrival, international passengers will likely need to show some form of immunity passport to border control agents. This ‘passenger covid-19 compliant instrument’ is being considered by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Once a coronavirus vaccine is accepted by the world health body, it will become compulsory, according to Weston, for passengers to present a proof of vaccine to enter other countries.

Furthermore, as passengers arrive airports, they will undertake additional temperature screening at their final destination, including blood tests for Covid-19.

Some airports such as in Hong Kong and Vienna, will conduct a blood test on every passenger before they are allowed to enter the country. According to Weston, those types of tests, however, might be short-lived.

“While passengers might be comfortable right now giving up their face (for scans), I don’t know if we’re yet ready to give up our blood to some unknown agency to store somewhere,” she said.

Weston, who is working with major hubs like Dubai Airport to determine how many isolation rooms are needed and how to strategically place them throughout the airport, noted that whether it is a blood test or temperature scan that is required, airports must be ready to deal with passengers who do have a fever or other covid-19 symptoms.

“Most large airports have one isolation room,” Weston notes, “but many more will be needed as travel opens up again. The goal is to get a symptomatic person out of the main flow of passengers as quickly as possible and minimise their contact with other passengers.”

While all the changes that airports will undergo are not completely clear, Weston says, one thing is for sure:  airport facilities are about to undergo a seismic shift.

Other experts believe the covid-19 pandemic will bring about the same kind of paradigm shift in air travel that was experienced after 9/11, as airport or flying experience may never be the same again.

For Nigerians, anxiously waiting to resume global air travel, these processes and gadgets are the new developments they would be encountering when they fly into more covid-19 sensitive and responsible countries and airports particularly. 

As these developments become the ‘new normal’ in a post covid-19 airspace travel, the guiding rules, roles and responsibilities adopted as prevailing global best practice for all nations, would apply to all nations, including Nigeria.

With the delays and now series of postponements of resumption of international flights by the Nigerian Aviation authorities, it is hoped that the nation’s airspace managers will take note of the various protocols, processes and covid-19 sensitive gadgets to be fitted into all the nation’s airports, especially the four major hubs.