Lagos State government has been working on securing Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 permission to allow flights from Lagos to Abuja to operate, following the increasing impact of the closure of the airports on the state’s economy.
State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-olu who made this known said the aviation industry, as well as the entertainment, hospitality and transportation sectors, had been “significantly” affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
He made his observations while he spoke as a panellist at a webinar titled, ‘A global pandemic: local realities and peculiarities – a view from the frontlines’, hosted by FSDH Merchant Bank on Friday.
The governor said, “In terms of direct economy, I know that the entertainment industry has been affected badly. I know the hospitality industry has been affected greatly, especially as people could not go out. It affected those sectors badly. Transportation business and the aviation sector have been affected significantly and these are large employers of labour. We all know that Nollywood employs many people, so we are thinking through how to reset these economies very quickly but in a very gradual manner.
“So, the aviation industry has been badly hit and just this (Friday) morning, I spoke with a major player in that industry and we are trying to get the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to see whether we are going to resume Lagos–Abuja flights before we get to other sectors. There has to be some gradual process in lifting the lockdown.
Recall that the Federal Government on March 23 shut all international airports in the country before it later extended the closure to all airports in the country, banning all local and international flights
