Keyamo Orders Stronger Ebola Screening at Nigeria’s International Airports

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to strengthen Ebola response and surveillance protocols across all international airports.

Keyamo announced the directive in a post on X after a virtual meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, on the Ebola outbreak.

He said Pate provided a list of 44 people who had contact with the affected patient at a hospital after she developed symptoms, as well as two members of her domestic staff. The 46 individuals are being isolated until it is confirmed that they have not been infected.

Keyamo said aviation authorities are required to place them on a no-fly list for at least 21 days, the period within which symptoms are normally expected to appear.

“Whilst efforts are ongoing to isolate them for now until there is certainty they had not been infected with the virus, the aviation authorities are required to put them on a no-fly list for at least 21 days,” he said.

The minister also directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to immediately inform all local and international airlines of the development.

FAAN has been instructed to strengthen surveillance and response measures at international airports to reduce the risk of the virus spreading through air travel. Keyamo said the measures include enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, travel history tracking, digital health declarations and closer coordination among relevant agencies.

“Measures already being implemented by FAAN include enhanced health screenings, temperature checks, travel history tracking, digital health declarations, and strict inter-agency coordination with the NCDC following regional outbreak alerts earlier,” he said.