Travel News

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Seymour Aviation Limited have reassured travellers of safety and security of vehicles that are parked at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport’s (MMIA) car park in Lagos.

The two agencies, in different statements yesterday, acknowledged security breach at the fee-for-service facility and pledged to scale-up the safety programme going forward.

The Guardian had earlier reported cases of vandalisation of vehicles that were parked at the privately-run Seymour Multi-level Car Park facility. Though FAAN claimed to have reached out to one of the victims, the complainant denied receiving any entreaty.

General Manager, Corporate Affairs FAAN, Henrietta Yakubu, stated that the car park is safe for travellers and vehicles, “as additional security measures have been put in place to forestall the re-occurrence of such an act.”

Yakubu said: “The unfortunate incident, which has been thoroughly reviewed and addressed, is an isolated case in the history of the management of the facility. While we have reached out to the victim of the incident, we would like to assure our esteemed customers that the airport, as well as its parking facility is safe and secure,” she said.

The management of Seymour Aviation, the concessionaire that operates the facility, stated that the incident of vandalisation was “regrettable” and avoidable.

“We are also pained because, in over four years of our operation, this kind of security breach had not occurred. When the car owner reported this incident, we quickly played the CCTV and confirmed that the car (a Lexus 460 SUV) actually arrived with its two mirrors intact. The CCTV camera, however, could not pick the criminal, as the car was parked at a blindspot.

“We are immediately reviewing our surveillance system to forestall future occurrence and to ensure the comfort and convenience of users of the facility,” the statement read in part.

Seymour Aviation added that the ugly incident should not give room for “wrong insinuations” by factions “pushing their own agenda, including canvassing for people to continue to park their cars on the driveway into the terminal.”

“On our part, we are determined to continue every measure that will encourage people to park comfortably, conveniently and securely at the Seymour Multi-level park at MMIA.

“We would like to continue to operate at that level of integrity and safety for our users and security for their items.

Though our CCTV cameras are working perfectly (and that is why we were able to easily verify that the said SUV arrived with its mirrors intact) we are reviewing the entire surveillance system and introducing other measures to boost the confidence of our users.”

CAPE TOWN, Dec 30 (Reuters) - South Africa has lifted a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew on people's movement with immediate effect, believing the country has passed the peak of its fourth COVID-19 wave driven by the Omicron variant, a government statement said on Thursday.

The country made the changes based on the trajectory of the pandemic, levels of vaccination in the country and available capacity in the health sector, according to a press release issued by Mondli Gungubele, a minister in the presidency.

South Africa is currently at the lowest of its five-stage COVID-19 alert levels.

"All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level," a statement from the special cabinet meeting held earlier on Thursday said.

Data from the Department of Health showed a 29.7% decrease in the number of new cases detected in the week ending Dec. 25 compared to the number of cases found in the previous week, at 127,753, the governmentsaid.

South Africa, with close to 3.5 million infections and 91,000 deaths, has been the worst-hit country in Africa during the pandemic on both counts.

Besides lifting the restrictions on public movement, the government said gatherings will be restricted to no more than 1,000 people indoors, and no more than 2,000 people outdoors.

It also ruled that alcohol shops with licenses to operate beyond 11 p.m. (2100GMT) may revert back to full license conditions, a welcome boon for traders and businesses hard hit by the pandemic and looking to recover during the festive season.

"While the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, there has been lower rates of hospitalisation than in previous waves," cabinet said, adding that the wearing of masks in public places remained mandatory. Failure to wear a mask in South Africa when required remains a criminal offence.

Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Chris Reese, Dan Grebler and Aurora Ellis