There was palpable joy on Saturday as the first international flight landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

This was coming after five months of closure of the Nigerian airspace due to the lockdown occasioned by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Middle East Airline (MEA), which took off from Beirut, Lebanon, made history as the first international flight to land anywhere in the country as it touched down at the MMIA at exactly 2.30 p.m.

The aircraft was ceremonially welcomed with a water cannon demonstration by the officials of the Aerodrome and Rescue Fire Fighters, a Department in the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Officials of FAAN, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Port Health Services (PHS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other relevant agencies were on ground to attend to the passengers brought in by the airline.

On arrival at the terminal, passengers presented their documents, including COVID-19 PCR test results for screening by the Port Health Services officials, while their travelling papers, passports and visas were handled by the immigration officials at the airport.

However, there was no much work to be done by the officials on ground as the aircraft landed with just 200 passengers as approved by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

The passengers, comprised Nigerians and foreigners, conducted themselves orderly and went through the protocols as approved by the PTF.

Credit: PM News