Travel News

(Bloomberg) --

With the resumption of global travel on the horizon, some people are discovering that their choice of vaccine could determine where they’re allowed to go.

Hong Kong citizen Marie Cheung travels to mainland China regularly for her work with an electric vehicle company, a routine that’s been interrupted by lengthy mandated quarantine stays since the pandemic began.

Of the two vaccine options available in the city -- one from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and another developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE -- Cheung plans to sign up for Sinovac for easier movement in and out of the mainland. Meanwhile, her British husband will go for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, she says to boost his chances of visiting family in the U.K.

“For people who need to work in or return to mainland, the Chinese vaccine is the only option for them,” Cheung said. “Westerners will only choose the vaccine recognized by their home country.”

As inoculation efforts ramp up around the world, a patchwork of approvals across countries and regions is laying the groundwork for a global vaccine bifurcation, where the shot you get could determine which countries you can enter and work in. This is emerging most starkly in China, which so far recognizes only Chinese-made shots while its vaccines don’t have approval in the U.S. or Western Europe.

That’s forced some Chinese citizens who venture abroad regularly -- and western nationals wanting to pursue business opportunities in the world’s second-largest economy -- into a dilemma of what shot to opt for.

For millions of people worldwide who can’t choose which vaccines they get, the risk of more places becoming selective about which shots they recognize, especially given the vaccines’ varying efficacy rates, creates the possibility that even fully inoculated, people’s travel could still be limited -- with consequences for international business activity and the tourism industry.

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“A global division of peoples based around vaccine adoption will only exacerbate and continue the economic and political effects of the pandemic,” said Nicholas Thomas, associate professor in health security at the City University of Hong Kong. “It will risk the world being divided into vaccine silos based on vaccine nationalism rather than medical necessity.”

Mutual Recognition

Many countries have shut their borders amid the pandemic, some allowing entry only to citizens, and even then with weeks-long quarantines after arrival. While vaccines are seen as the way to remove those entry barriers, considerable uncertainty remains over how, or if, nations will differentiate the at least 11 shots available worldwide.

Governments from China to Europe are discussing vaccine passports -- easily accessible and verifiable certifications stating that an individual has been inoculated -- but it’s unclear if countries will pursue universal recognition of all shots, or be selective on which they choose to recognize, particularly with the rise of virus variants and questions over whether the current crop of vaccines are as effective against them.

China eased visa application requirements for foreigners who had been inoculated with Chinese shots in March, including the ability to skip Covid tests or fill out travel declaration forms. The country’s homegrown vaccines are only available in some countries, like Brazil, Pakistan and Serbia. You can’t get Sinovac or the other Chinese shots in the U.S.

But in a sign that Beijing may be cognizant of the economic costs of being selective on vaccines, the Chinese embassy in Washington said this week that travelers who had taken certain western shots could still enter the country if they were departing from Dallas in Texas. State media has indicated that the Pfizer-BioNTech shot is likely to be approved mid-year.

“We do think that it’s important to get a very high percentage of the community vaccinated and the best way to do that is to offer choice,” said Ker Gibbs, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. As a key market and source of business for companies around the world, China’s border restrictions -- among the world’s strictest -- have “had a major impact on our ability to conduct business,” he said.

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“Just speaking with our members, mobility is a high priority for us both in terms of allowing our executives to come in and out of China, but also to have their dependents travel back to China,” Gibbs said. “That’s been a big problem.”

China isn’t the only place that’s restricting access to people with certain vaccinations. Iceland currently omits Chinese and Russian vaccines from the list of those it approves for entry.

The question of vaccine recognition is a key one for tourism-dependent countries, with the $9 trillion global travel industry effectively paralyzed since the pandemic began. China’s approach to this issue may impact their decision-making, as Chinese tourists have been among the biggest groups of foreign visitors to travel hot spots in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand and capitals as far away as Paris before the pandemic.

There were 155 million outbound tourists in 2019 spending more than $133 billion abroad, according to the China Tourism Academy, a government think tank and subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. While Indonesia, home to Bali, and Thailand have approved and are administering Chinese shots, New Zealand and Australia -- which has seen its relations with China deteriorate the past year over the virus and trade -- do not.

“I don’t know how practical it will be for western countries to recognize Chinese vaccines given the geopolitical environment,” said Ether Yin, a partner at Trivium China, a Beijing-based consultancy. “But there won’t be a true resumption of global travel or economy without the inclusion of China, plus dozens of economies who used Chinese vaccines.”

Katy Niu, a 26-year old Chinese citizen, is a skiing enthusiast and frequent traveler living in Beijing. It’s unclear whether she’ll be returning to international slopes like those in Japan’s Hokkaido anytime soon. Prior to the pandemic, she used to travel internationally at least three times a year, from shopping on Paris’s Champs Elysées to relaxing on a Southeast Asian beach.

Niu hasn’t gotten a vaccine yet, saying she didn’t feel any urgency since she’s not currently able to travel -- and doesn’t see it opening up in the near future.

“If other countries don’t recognize the Chinese vaccine, does that mean vaccination is not going to make a difference?” she said. “We are not offered a western vaccine anyways -- we don’t have a choice.”

BY  Natasha Turak   AND   Dan Murphy

KEY POINTS

• “We’re not restricting the UAE due to the level of coronavirus in the UAE,” U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said. “The issue is one of transit.”
• Being on the U.K.’s red list comes with a high price, and has real consequences for the 120,000 Brits living in the Gulf country and their family members.

In this article

Dubai is known for its modern architecture, including the Burj Khalifa, which at 2,700 feet tall is nearly twice the height of the Empire State Building. Fraser Hall | The Image Bank | Getty Images

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates’ potentially indefinite status on the U.K.’s “red list” for travel has stoked anger and confusion, made more uncertain by the latest statements coming from the British government.

Britain’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps indicated the UAE might stay on the U.K.’s red list due to its status as an international transit hub, despite its falling infection trends and the world’s second-fastest vaccination campaign.

“We’re not restricting the UAE due to the level of coronavirus in the UAE,” Shapps told an aviation event on Wednesday. “The issue is one of transit.”

The comments drew sharp criticism from Emirates’ President Tim Clark: “Leaving us on the ‘red list’ for reasons of transit doesn’t make any sense because (passengers) can just go through other hubs,” he told a recent online event. “It compromises our United Kingdom operation for Emirates. It’s a real pity if they keep us on the red list.”

Being on the U.K.’s red list comes with a high price, and has real consequences for the 120,000 Brits living in the Gulf country and their family members. It requires anyone entering the U.K. from a red list country to quarantine in a government-approved hotel and cover their own lodging and food costs for 10 days, at a cost of £1,750 ($2,428) per person.

“If anyone asks me about home, I cry,” said one British citizen working in Dubai who hasn’t seen her family in the U.K. since mid-2020. 

“The ambiguity is unbearable,” said the source, who asked not to be identified because of professional restrictions. “It is much easier to establish and maintain balance in your life when you make a plan — the U.K.’s interchanging positions make that impossible and it’s so detrimental to people’s well-being.”

People wait their turn to get vaccinated against the coronavirus at a vaccination center set up at the Dubai International Financial Center in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on February 3, 2021. The UAE has administered at least three million doses to more than a quarter of its population. 1230948336

The U.K. red list, which bans air travel or forces a costly quarantine on arrival, currently names 40 high risk countries deemed too dangerous to travel, including India, which has seen new infections skyrocket to over 300,000 cases a day. 

The UAE remains on the list, despite infection rates falling to around 2,000 cases a day. Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, has placed the U.K. on its own “green” list of travel countries. CNBC has reached out to the U.K.’s Foreign Commonwealth Office for comment.

Growing support 

A petition to remove the UAE from the U.K. red list had received over 8,500 signatures as of April 26, reflecting a growing frustration over the travel restrictions and the cost of quarantine for one of the world’s busiest air travel routes. 

“I want the Government to remove the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the Red Ban List by the summer, so that travelers can visit the safe country without needing to quarantine in a hotel on return,” petitioner Mikael Aziz wrote. 

The U.K. government is required to respond if the petition receives 10,000 signatures or more. 

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“You need to reconsider Dubai being on the red list. Most of the UK citizens who work there are fully vaccinated and should be allowed to travel to the UK. They could take a PCR test before and on arrival.” Twitter user @DawnWilson2606 tweeted to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Any decision to remove the UAE from the red list is further complicated by the difference in restrictions between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The UAE’s most populous emirates have enforced separate access, travel, testing and quarantine rules since the start of the pandemic — despite being less than a two-hour drive apart.

Red list removal ‘as soon as it is feasible’

Amid the criticism and confusion over the latest travel restrictions, there are signs the predominantly-expatriate desert sheikhdom of 10 million could yet be removed from the red list.

“We are working very closely with the UAE authorities to ensure that we can remove the UAE from the red list as soon as it is feasible,” said Simon Penney, the U.K. consul general to Dubai and trade commissioner to the Middle East. Penney’s comments came on April 21, the same day as Shapps’ suggestion that the UAE may stay on the red list.   

The U.K. government is expected to review its ban on non-essential international travel from May 17, but it’s unclear what destinations will receive the tick of approval.

Commuters cross London Bridge at sunrise on March 1, 2021 in London, England. Hollie Adams | Getty Images

“It is too early today to say which countries will be on the green list and which ones won’t, and we will need to wait until early May before we have any further clarity,” Penney said during an interview with a Dubai radio station

“The decisions taken are driven by data and science, and key to this includes the rollout of the vaccine, the number of daily cases, and the prevalence of harmful variants,” he added.

The U.K. Foreign Office said it “advises against all but essential travel to the whole of the United Arab Emirates based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks.” The UAE is outpacing most of the developed world on its vaccine rollout with almost 40% of its population fully inoculated.

“Visitors arriving into the U.K. who have been in or transited through the UAE in the previous 10 days will not be permitted entry,” an April 25th advisory said.

‘A travel corridor worth reopening’

“Countries’ positions on each other’s lists don’t have to be reciprocal,” Rob Willock, director of the advisory service Economist Corporate Network, told CNBC on Sunday.

“But considering the UAE and U.K. are second and third respectively on the global vaccination league table, both having administered at least one vaccine to more than half of their population, one might imagine this is a travel corridor worth reopening.”

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The remedy cannot be worse than the ailment, says Dubai Health Authority

The U.K., one of Dubai’s largest sources of tourists and a critical travel route for Emirates, took the UAE off its “safe travel corridor” in January, as cases in Dubai began to skyrocket following an influx of U.K. travelers in November and December. 

The UAE reported just over 2,000 new infections on Saturday. The country has administered 9.9 million vaccine doses so far. 

U.S. travel warnings 

It’s not just the U.K. that is holding short on opening up. The U.S. added more than 100 countries to its “Level 4: Do Not Travel” list last week, including Israel and the UAE.

“Things change, and they will change over time,” Willie Walsh, IATA director general told CNBC when asked if the State Department got the advisories wrong. 

Certain countries on the American list also have their own restrictions against travel by foreigners, while others will allow entry by air with proof of vaccination and a negative Covid test or other criteria. 

“We’re not suggesting that you just remove all restrictions now,” Walsh said. “We’re asking governments to set out a plan to give an indication as to when they believe international air travel will start and how international air travel should operate when things do get moving again.”

• More than 25 aircraft stuck overseas due to liquidity crisis 

• Experts hinge aviation survival on local refineries, special FX window, interlining arrangements 

• It’s unfortunate to rely 100% on imported Jet A1, says Joji

Despite disbursement of N5 billion bailout fund to support the aviation sector, there has been no improvement in the financial status or operational challenges facing local airlines, with most operators retaining high airfares across routes.

A survey of airfares in the last couple of weeks showed an average of 100 per cent spike across major routes, compared to rates about a year ago. Some one-way economy class tickets were sold to desperate travellers for as high as N140, 000 – that is, over 300 per cent rise and more than half the price of a return-ticket on Lagos-London or Atlanta, Addis Ababa or Dubai route.

Though operators blamed the “obnoxious” price regime on forces of demand and supply, The Guardian learnt that price pushback was not unconnected with airlines’ capacity constraint and fleet rationing that has lingered with forex scarcity, coupled with the recent spike in aviation fuel price.

As a result of liquidity crisis, no fewer than 25 aircraft are stuck in maintenance facilities overseas. Air Peace airline, the largest fleet operator in the country, accounts for 17 of the stranded toll.

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Stakeholders, made up of operators and commentators, regretted the prolonged hardship on travellers. They said the desperate situation should ease out with better monitoring of operators’ charges, local refining of Jet A1, special forex window for dollar-dependent industry and better cooperation in the form of interlining and code-sharing arrangement among operating carriers.

The Federal Government recently disbursed the sum of N4 billion to airline operators and N1 billion to regulators and service providers to subsidise huge losses on account of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Though the disbursement was adjudged meagre compared to COVID-19 induced devastation to aviation businesses, expectations were high that it would bring respite to liquidity constraints and scale down airfares from the rooftop as of last December.

Nothing has improved as the market survey shows. Compared to an average of N30, 000 offered at resumption of local flights last July, online booking platforms as at the weekend, showed varying prices, ranging from N33, 065 to N65, 430 (one-way economy) and N70, 040 to N105, 203 (return), depending on airline of choice, destination, place and time of booking.

The latest transport survey of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), released last week, also showed that average passenger airfare paid for a specified route single journey increased by 18.71 per cent year-on-year.

NBS showed that the average airfare rose to N36, 495.41 in March 2021 from N36, 458.11 in February 2021. States with highest airfare were Anambra/Lagos (N38, 600.00), Delta/Jigawa (N38, 500.00), Bauchi (N38, 450.00) while states with lowest airfare were Akwa-Ibom (N32, 700.00), Sokoto (N33, 200.00), and Katsina (N35, 150.00).

HOWEVER, over-the-counter booking and today’s flights across all routes showed far higher rates than shown by online platforms and NBS’s estimates. Bookings at the airport attract the highest rates, ranging from N55, 000 to N86, 500 on one-way Economy Class. Penultimate weekend, an air traveller bought an Abuja-Lagos one-way ticket over-the-counter for N120, 000. Another passenger in Kano, en route Lagos, was charged N140, 000 on one of the major carriers. Charges on the northern region are particularly cut-throat since the exit of Azman Air over safety concerns.

Chief Operating Officer of one of the local carriers denied a blanket increase in airfares, explaining that the “occasional surge” in prices was peculiar to individual airlines and its experience in getting scarce foreign exchange to meet maintenance obligations.

“Accessing forex is a general problem that is not peculiar to airlines. But we are in a sector that is 100 per cent dependent on dollars, though selling tickets in very weak naira. We have not been able to access forex at CBN-rate lately, but because I needed to get an aircraft back in operation and not to keep passengers stranded, I decided to buy dollars at black market rate of N480/$, perhaps to do maintenance worth $2.5 million.

“Is it reasonable to put passengers on that aircraft at the rate of N30, 000? If we do, we will soon run out of business and there will be no aviation industry the next time a passenger comes calling. Don’t also forget that aviation fuel now costs N270-plus per litre outside Lagos and Abuja, because of marketers’ monopoly.

“In this circumstance, if I have to sell a one-way ticket for N70, 000 to recoup my cost of operation alone, so be it. And sadly, we would continue to have the same narrative until the economic indices are right or the government deploys a stop-gap measure like a special FX window for some critical sectors like aviation,” he said.

While new airlines like United Nigeria Airline have joined the sector to bolster capacity, the impact was yet to be felt by consumers as several of the existing fleet of airlines are either overseas or grounded, awaiting maintenance and its heavy cost.

Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace Airline, Oluwatoyin Olajide, confirmed that 17 aircraft were undergoing varying levels of maintenance overseas.

Olajide said they were doing everything possible to return the aircraft one after the other to launch more routes and resume others that were temporarily suspended.

Chairman of United Nigeria Airline, Obiora Okonkwo, said: “CBN has not given dollars to airlines since February 2021 owing to scarcity of the currency. Aircraft business is capital intensive. The solution to survival of airlines is better access to spare parts. But aircraft spare parts are not sold here in Nigeria; they are sold overseas. Aviation industry should be given all the necessary support to ensure survival of airlines.”

SIMILARLY, the rise in the cost of aviation fuel, from N160 to N260 per litre, in the last few days, was also blamed for over 50 per cent rise in the cost of airfares.

Okonkwo said that airlines would in most cases resort to increasing fares through adjustment in ticket price as a result of the high cost of the commodity.

The airline chief, however, said he would want to believe that the operators would be unreasonable, fixing ticket prices that are beyond the reach of customers.

Okonkwo said, instead of unhealthy competition, airlines might be condemned to interline and codeshare arrangement with one another, to scale the hurdle, adding that his airline was willing and ready to have such a relationship.

Chief Executive Officer of Skypower Express Airways, Capt. Mohammed Joji, said it was unfortunate the sector still imports aviation fuel 100 per cent.

“It is sad and unbelievable that a country with three refineries cannot refine Jet A1 for local use. Someone must be sabotaging the system; otherwise we have no business importing fuel. The refineries are strategically located. Kaduna refinery takes care of the north, while Warri takes care of the south.

“As it is, you cannot travel from Maiduguri to Lagos by road anymore. So, you need to fly and you need fuel. We only need to refine the product locally and make it cheap, and about 40 per cent of the cost will reduce,” Joji said.

He, however, stressed that the local operators should have no good justification for the haywire price regime, given that the Federal Government had given duty-free on commercial aircraft and spare parts coming into the country.

Former commandant of the Lagos Airport and aviation security consultant, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), disagreed with Joji on pricing. Ojikutu reckoned that airlines might, for once, be charging the right fares commensurate with economic realities.

He recalled that from the 1990s to date, exchange rates had spiked several times without airlines changing ticket fares. He said it was no surprise that the airlines continued to struggle, owing service providers and regulatory agencies deductions of five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Passenger Services Charge (PSC), just to stay afloat.

“Rather than these airlines applying or charging appropriate fares for their flights, they target public money to make up for losses. They cannot be charging $100 (N3, 800/N4, 000) when exchange rate was N40/$ in 1990, and still be charging less than N40, 000 today when dollar is N500/$.

“It does not make economic sense today when all aircraft parts and even fuel is imported as against the local availability in the 80s/90s. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) can regulate but there is no problem with the increase if dollar sells for N500. Airfare to places of one hour flight distance can and should not be less than $100 or N50, 000,” Ojikutu said.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has warned citizens against travelling to countries that are recording a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The countries that are currently recording a third wave of the pandemic are India, Brazil, South Africa and Turkey.

The National Incident Manager (NIM) of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Dr. Mukhtar Muhammad, disclosed this at the media briefing by the committee on Monday.

Muhammad also warned Nigerians against shunning safety protocols against COVID-19, insisting that the virus was not over.

He said, “While we continue to reopen the economy, we must also be aware of the happenings around the globe. Mr Chairman (Boss Mustapha) and the Honourable Minister of Health (Osagie Ehanire) have made reference to specific incidents in India, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa.

“We sympathise with the people of these countries [India, Brazil, South Africa and Turkey] because it is really a very trying time, particularly for India that is recording over 300,000 cases a day and recording over 2,000 deaths.

“India is a prime destination for medical tourism for Nigeria. We know that many Nigerians like to travel – to go to India but now… we urge Nigerians to limit all travels to only essential travels, particularly to these affected countries.”

BY  ’Femi Asu

The quantity of foreign exchange used for oil imports in 2020 was $1.32bn, compared to $2.10bn in 2019, the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria have shown.

The CBN’s data on sectoral utilisation for transactions valid for forex revealed that $148.32m was utilised in January for oil imports; $145.23m in February, and $139.55m in March.

Forex for oil import transactions fell to $113.80m in April and $109.11m in May but rose to $114.57m in June.

It stood at $77.36m in July; $82.37m in August; $72.63m in September; $78.86m in October; $92.91m in November and $146.95m in December.

Although the CBN did not specify the oil imported into the country, Nigeria’s oil imports consist mainly of petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fuel consumption and imports plunged to record low in the second quarter of 2020 amid the lockdown imposed by the Federal Government to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has been the major importer of petroleum products and sole importer of petrol into the country in recent years amid a lack of full deregulation in the downstream oil sector and scarcity of forex.

The PUNCH reported exclusively in March that the amount spent on the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) rose by 17.54 per cent to N2.11tn last year, based on data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The nation’s forex reserves have been fluctuating in recent months, rising from a low of $34.42bn on March 18 to $35.25bn on April 16. The reserves dropped to $35.09bn on April 23, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry said earlier this month that the difficulties faced by many investors in Nigeria in accessing forex for importation of raw materials, equipment and some critical inputs for production and processing was putting investments and jobs at risk.

 “For the purpose of establishing Letters of Credit and Bills for Collection for the importation of petroleum products, authorised dealers shall forward to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department (of the CBN), all relevant supporting documents for consideration prior to commencement of the transaction,” the central bank said last year in its monetary, credit, foreign trade and exchange policy guidelines.

It added, “Furthermore, the CBN shall be notified within 48 hours by the authorised dealers before bidding for funds to pay for such transactions.”

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, relies largely on importation for petrol and other refined products as its refineries have remained in a state of disrepair for many years.

BY Ifeoma Okeke

The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, on Monday, said Emirates airline will soon resume its flight operations in and out of Nigeria.

Nuhu while speaking during a briefing of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 said there are ongoing discussions with the airline and the outcome would be disclosed within the next 48 hours.

The Nigerian government in March banned the airline from operating in the country over its continuous refusal to fly passengers without a pre-boarding rapid diagnostic test (RTD’s).

“As regards the issue of emirates airline resumption of flight to Nigeria, the PSC deliberated extensively on this matter and the gap has been significantly closed between the position of Nigeria and the United Arab Emirate (UAE),” he said.

“They have met some of our requirements and we are just waiting for one confirmation.”

Nuhu also said Port Harcourt and Enugu international airports will soon resume international flights.

“Three airports: Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu, were declared by the PTF to resume international flights.

“Kano has resumed, Port Harcourt is almost there, just a few things to go and in the next couple of days, we expect Port Harcourt to be released for resumption of international flights.

“Hopefully in a couple of weeks, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu will join the list making a total of five international airports that will resume international flights.”

Punch Editorial Board

THE alarm raised by the Federal Government over plans by some criminals to attack major airports across the country has further heightened the security challenges facing Africa’s most populous country. Despite being plagued with leadership incompetence and a faltering economy, Nigeria also gasps in the grip of terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping. The threat to attack airports is a new dimension that must be prevented at all costs.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said that it received an alert from the Ministry of Aviation on plans to attack the airports. It listed the targeted airports to include the ones in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Sokoto and Kano. Improving airport security and effective criminal justice responses founded on a strong legal regime are essential elements for countering civil aviation terrorist acts.

Experts say that the aviation sector remains an attractive terrorist target due to its importance to the global economy and the opportunity to inflict mass casualties. It is striking that the Federal Government quickly rose to the occasion by directing the FAAN to immediately enumerate “appropriate counter-measures for the safety of airports/facilities” to combat the risk and call an emergency meeting of airport security committees to “study the current state of airport security, jointly recommend corrective steps and share responsibility for successful implementation.” The government has also reinforced the level of security at Abuja, Lagos, Kano, and other identified airports across the country. The reinforcement was part of measures deployed to tackle any form of attack by criminals.

But security agents need to be vigilant and ensure collaborative efforts to ward off threats at the airports. Criminal elements had in the past issued threats to attack critical national assets only for the security agencies to exhibit bravado which soon waned a few weeks after. The United Nations headquarters in the Federal Capital Territory was attacked in 2011 where some lost their lives and others were injured. The country’s security chiefs should quickly proceed to examine the warning and gather adequate intelligence to halt attempts to attack any of the airports and other major national assets.

This is not the time to engage in rhetoric as emblematic of the nation’s security heads. Security experts have noted that past abduction of pupils in a school in Chibok, Borno State, should be enough for security forces to comprehend the kidnapping style of criminals to frustrate the activities. But sadly, nothing was learned from that episode. Rather than decreasing, kidnappings, violent attacks and killings are increasing with more daring styles introduced into the illicit acts. After the Chibok incident, pupil abduction has occurred in Dapchi, Yobe State; Zamfara, Katsina and lately Kaduna states with other incidents of kidnapping reported across other states.

The nation’s security forces need to embrace preventive models and not knee-jerk approaches. This is the area deserving outstanding work. Their operation should be intelligence-driven and explore collaborations with international security agencies to gather intelligence and record successes in covert operations. They should know that no foreign security services rely solely on their own intelligence efforts alone. The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada among other countries, usually share signals intelligence with their allies to reinforce joint resilience in arresting potential threats. Nigeria should join the rest of the world in best practices. It ought to be working diligently to provide at-risk people, buildings, and national assets with modern security. It should be prepared to counter modern terrorism with intelligence and new technologies.

Nigeria’s security services must significantly improve on intelligence-sharing to effectively deliver premium security apparatus in safeguarding the country both internally and against external aggressors. The country’s failure to utilise intelligence was also dwelt on by one of the ambassadorial nominees, who retired as the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Muhammad Usman. He disclosed that his office had an intelligence report that Boko Haram insurgents would kidnap Dapchi girls. He said, “There was an intelligence report on Dapchi before it occurred. We saw indicators building up, but it was not managed properly. State governors have a role to play because if you are given intelligence, we expect troops to move in, but this does not happen in the North-East because of bad roads and difficult terrains.”

The Nigerian government was accused by the international community of not acting on intelligence reports when a team of military and intelligence experts in Nigeria were embedded and spy planes sent with thermal imaging to search for the missing Chibok girls after locating them from the skies above a forest thrice the size of Wales.

In this regard, every effort to protect the airports must be calculatedly executed and no one, no matter how highly placed, should be allowed to compromise security directives at the airports.  Passengers and workers within the airport premises should show responsibility because security is everybody’s business. They should be on the alert and swiftly report perceived threats to the security forces. This is not the time for security agents to display overzealousness. Vigilance should be the watchword of everyone to collectively frustrate the antics of criminals.

Airports across the world now have stringent security measures to counter raging terrorism threats. Authorities in Nigeria’s airports should urgently perform security audits to replace non-functional facilities, improve screening lanes, install security cameras and boost mobile patrols to passably secure the facilities which are the gateways to the country. Countries should work together to share information, technology, and best practices on aviation security.

BY  Angus Whitley

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government told its citizens to leave India as soon as possible because of the country’s escalating Covid-19 crisis.

In a Level 4 travel advisory --- the highest issued by the Department of State -- U.S. citizens were told “not to travel to India or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so.” There are 14 direct daily flights between India and the U.S. and other services that connect through Europe, the department said.

Indian authorities and hospitals are struggling to cope with record Covid-19 infections and deaths. Official data on Wednesday showed new infections rose by 360,960 in the prior 24 hours, while 3,293 additional lives were lost -- both a record for the country. India has the world’s fastest-growing caseload.

Australia earlier this week banned all flights from India to relieve pressure on the nation’s system of mainly quarantining returned residents from overseas in inner-city hotels, after a jump in infections. The U.K. has barred any visitor who’s been in India in the previous 10 days from entering. British and Irish nationals arriving in England from India must quarantine in a hotel.

New York City will reopen in full capacity starting July 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.

“Our plan is to fully reopen on July 1. We are ready for stores to open, for businesses to open, offices, theaters, full strength,” de Blasio said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

BY Sodiq Oyeleke

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria has announced that athletes from the country will not be participating in the World Athletics relays billed to start from May 1 to 2, 2021 in Poland.

AFN’s factional president, Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau, said this in a statement on Thursday, titled, ‘Sports ministry scuttles Nigeria’s World Relays participation’.

But John Akanji, media aide to the sports minister, Sunday Dare, denied claims that the sports ministry scuttled Nigeria’s participation.

Akanji, who said Shehu-Gusau is not the recognised AFN president, confirmed the development, saying, “the athletes were denied visas by the US embassy.”

A leadership crisis is currently rocking the Nigerian athletics body with the sports ministry backing a faction headed by one Olamide George.

The statement by the Shehu Gusau-led AFN read, “Nigeria will not participate in the World Relays because the Ministry of Youth and Sports opted to take the athletes to a training tour in the United States for the same relays, they are yet to qualify for, instead of a pre- Olympic Games qualification in Poland.

“The information at our disposal is that athletes who were supposed to represent Nigeria at the World Athletics Relays in Silesia, Poland were taken to the USA Embassy to obtain visas for a training tour of an event they were yet to qualify for.

“The scheduled relays in Poland were meant to enable Nigeria to secure qualification for the Olympic Games in Tokyo but to our disbelief, the athletes’ passports were diverted to the USA Embassy to secure visas for a training camp for an event they are yet to qualify for. How can a qualification competition in Poland which was our best bet be ignored for a training camp in
the USA?

“This is one of the numerous reasons why sports in Nigeria should be allowed to be administered according to international best practices.”