Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made the disclosure in a tweet on Tuesday.

Sirika also added that Qatar Airways has been granted approval to resume flights to Abuja.

The Minister hinted at the possibility of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport and Enugu Airport accommodating foreign travellers before year end.

The tweet read, “We are working with Ministry of Health, CACOVID & The PTF to open Kano, Port Harcourt & possibly Enugu airports before the end of the year. Also Lufthansa, Air France/KLM have been given go-ahead to resume. Qatar Airways is approved to start Abuja. Thank you for your patience.”

In September, the Nigerian government barred some airlines from entering the West African nation as it resumed international flights operations.

The airlines include Air France, KLM Royal Dutch, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, RwandAir, Air Namibia, Royal Air Maroc and TAAG Angola.

Some of the airlines were denied permission to enter because Nigerians with tourist visas have been banned from entering those countries. The ones that fell under this category were: Air France, KLM Royal Dutch, Lufthansa and Etihad Airways.

It said the free visa replacement which will be open till December 2020, covers those who will be travelling to the UK for work, study or to join their families.

This was contained in a statement by the Commission on Thursday titled, ‘Update on VAC Services From The BHC Nigeria’ posted on its verified Twitter handle, @UKinNigeria.

The statement read in part, “As a result of the disruptions to travel caused by COVID-19, we are experiencing high demand for replacement vignettes for 30-day visas to travel to the UK for work, study or to join family.

“If an individual’s 30-day visa to travel to the UK for work, study or to join family has expired, or is about to expire, they can request a replacement visa with revised validity dates free of charge until the end of this year. This does not apply to other types of visas. This process will be in place until the end of 2020. The replacement visa will be valid for 90 days.’

“To request a replacement visa, individuals can arrange to return their passport to their Visa Application Centre in Nigeria without an appointment.”

Recall that the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announced on Monday that international airports would reopen for commercial flight operations effective August 29 after about five months of closure.

“Glad to announce the resumption of international flights from the 29th of August, 2020. Beginning with Lagos and Abuja as we did with the domestic flight resumption. Protocols and procedures will be announced in due course. We thank you for your patience,” the minister had said.

With the reopening of domestic airports for domestic flights in July after over four months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, travellers had been in high hopes for the resumption of international flights.

But the PTF National Coordinator, Sani Aliyu, during a briefing on Thursday, August 6 in Abuja, said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and other agencies, as well as airlines, should commence the process for the restart of international flights.

According to Aliyu, passengers would arrive three hours before flights when the country’s airspace finally opens for international operations.

“Specific to air transportation, as you are aware, domestic flights have already resumed, the railway sector has also restarted. For international travel, we have made recommendations to the aviation industry to commence the process for opening international airport provided all existing international and local Covid-19 protocol are in place.

“We have modified the protocol for passenger arrivals at the airports. Domestic passengers arriving at the airports are advised to arrive one hour before their flights and three hours before international flights when this restarts,” he said.

Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha disclosed this on Tuesday at the taskforce daily briefing in Abuja.

According to him, conversations are ongoing between the taskforce and the Ministry of Aviation regarding reopening of international flight

“Most importantly, the arrival protocols for passengers on inbound flights are being firmed up for seamless testing and detection. Relevant MDAs will be holding further consultations,” Mustapha said.

Recall that the federal government had shut down all airports in Nigeria following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country as part of its effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

But the FG had since July 8 announced the commencement of domestic flights with no indications of the date for resumption of international flight