Travel agencies raise safety awareness ahead of resumption

Travel agencies have begun raising safety awareness at international airports as flight services resume later this month.

The National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), said arrangements were in place to ensure travellers on international flights are abreast of destination protocols and safety requirements.

Vice President, NANTA Lagos Zone, Yinka Folami, said this when the association distributed face masks to passengers and airline staff at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal II (MMA2) in Lagos.

Folami said they were prepared to ensure that international air passengers do not encounter problems at Lagos and Abuja airports, already designated to resume international flights on August 29.

He said their members had been sensitised and educated on what the protocols are; from the airport to boarding, in-flight and at destination.

He said this would give NANTA members the opportunity to act as consultants to the travelling public, adding that with the pandemic, they had been challenged to go beyond their ticketing services.

Chairman, Corporate Social Responsibility NANTA, Ima Victor-Ekpo, said few airlines had informed NANTA of their flight restart from September 1, while others would follow subsequently.

“We have been in touch with all the airlines. We’ve been in webinars with them. Most of them are starting on September 1, but others have also pushed for October because they have to get ready.”

She said as part of their preparedness for restart, they decided to distribute face masks to reassure customers of air travel that it was safe to fly.