The Federal Government says it has decontaminated two out of 123 aircraft nationwide to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Minister of Environment, Muhammad Mahmood, disclosed this on Wednesday at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.
Mahmood also said 13 airports across the country had been mapped out for decontamination, and that work was ongoing on other facilities.
The minister said the disinfection was slow because of the nature of the aviation sector.
“Aviation sector is such a specialised sector. We cannot rush things. I did say that we have mapped out 123 aircraft and 13 airports,” he said.
“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.”
Mahmood said the Federal Ministry of Environment would visit the airports again for the exercise after obtaining clearance from the aviation sector.
