Once bitten, twice shy! Nigerian passengers cancel US, Europe trips over Ebola
Nigeria was recently declared free of Ebola by the World Health Organization, and other nations have been asked to emulate the measures we put in place to combat the virus.
For fear of contacting the deadly Ebola virus, Nigerian travelers have been forced to cancel their flights to the United States and some European countries, Punch reports.
Also, health and immigration officials at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos have been ordered to properly screen passengers coming into the country from the affected countries.
An official of Delta Airlines, who gave her name as Marylyn Thomas, told the newspaper, that since Ebola hit the US, some passengers had rescheduled or cancelled their flights.
“It is becoming a serious issue and I think everyone is trying to be careful since the news broke out. Already, some passengers are showing serious concerns and some have gone as far as cancelling or rescheduling their
flights,” Thomas said.
Also, an official of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, who did not want to be quoted, allegedly said “We just have to be careful to prevent any possible spillover since people come in from all parts of the world. We are battle ready to intensify screening and prevent any case in Lagos and Nigeria generally,”
Some of the travellers who were interviewed confirmed the fears.
Mrs. Tope Philips, who was booked to travel on Delta Air flight to the US on Monday but cancelled the booking for Far East country for her vacation, said
“Ebola is very deadly and it is better to stay away and prevent it as much as possible. I will go to the Far East, maybe Jordan or Qatar, for my annual vacation and visit the US maybe next year. It is too dicey to take a risk now,” she said.
Another passenger, Mr. Wilson Johnson, a Nigerian based in Ghana, said he had postponed his business trip to the US till December.
“Thank God I am in a position to shelve the meeting. I cannot go now because my wife also called me from Accra, advising me not to go to the US now. They may not be as serious there as the Nigerian government that took charge of the Ebola situation,” Johnson said.
