Domestic flights resumed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, on 8 July 2020, ending a three-and-a-half-month suspension imposed in late March as part of Nigeria's coronavirus lockdown. Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika announced the restart on Twitter a week earlier, with Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri and Maiduguri airports following on 11 July and the remainder of the country's airports reopening on 15 July.
Dry Runs Before the Real Thing
Air Peace and Dana Air conducted supervised shakedown flights in the days before reopening, with Air Peace flying empty aircraft between Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt to verify aircraft condition after nearly three months on the ground, and Dana Air running a similar test between Lagos and Port Harcourt. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria published new passenger protocols requiring travellers to arrive three hours before departure, alongside mask and temperature-check requirements at terminals.
Aero Contractors and Dana Air both began commercial service a day after the official restart, saying they staggered their return by 24 hours to avoid overwhelming airport facilities still adjusting to the new COVID-19 protocols. Sirika thanked the industry and travelling public for their patience through the shutdown, and said no confirmed coronavirus transmission had been traced to a flight in the weeks that followed, a track record he later cited when announcing the reopening of international air travel.