The Federal Government has said that it plans to decontaminate 123 aircraft nationwide to curtail the spread of COVID-19 but has so far disinfected only two aircraft.
It also stated that 13 airports across the country had been mapped out for decontamination, adding that work was ongoing on other facilities.
Minister of Environment, Muhammad Mahmood, disclosed this on Wednesday at the daily briefing on COVID-19 updates in Abuja.
He explained that the decontamination was slow because of the nature of the aviation sector.
Mahmood said, “Aviation sector is such a specialised sector. We cannot rush things. I did say that we have mapped out 123 aircraft and 13 airports.
“So far, we have decontaminated and disinfected two aircraft. We are not rushing it is because of the nature of the industry.”
He added, “It is a place that when it comes to safety, everything must be followed carefully, and even when we want to do that, we have to follow their lead as to how and where to go while decontaminating the aircraft.
“For the airports, we need to be led on where we need to go, how and when we need to, also.”
The minister said the Federal Ministry of Environment would visit the airports again for the exercise after obtaining clearance from the aviation sector.
