Passengers Groan Under Stringent Covid-19 Protocols, E-Payment Glitches

Inbound and outbound travellers are facing increasing difficulty in
meeting the safety protocol introduced by the Presidential Task Force
on COVID-19 in collaboration with the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority (NCAA).

Since international fights started last week, passengers have faced
exertion trying to make payments through the portal provided by
government and they are also made to pay outrageous fees as cost for
COVID-19 tests.

Airline operators, travellers and travel agencies have decried the
unsavoury situation, which has made international travel in Nigeria
frustrating, prompting some people who wanted to travel to defer their
travel “until things get better.”

Part of the conditions that must be met by travellers to Nigeria
include the rule that prior to boarding, passengers are requested to
upload their COVID-19 PCR NEGATIVE results on to the national payment
portal and bring along an electronic or hard copy of the result for
presentation at the airport.

They are also required to go through the routine of Port Health
screening and present electronic or print-out evidence of pre-boarding
PCR test results and evidence of payment/appointment for a repeat PCR
test, in-country.

Laboratories and hospitals that conduct COVID-19 tests charge
outrageous fees for the tests, while it is difficult for government
hospitals that offer such tests free to provide such service to
passengers, as reports have indicated.

But airlines, passengers and others involved in air travel have
complained that the portals are not working, so it is extremely
difficult to meet the conditions given to the passengers.

It was this hiccup that prompted the Director General of the Nigeria
Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu to issue an
apology on his verified twitter handle on Wednesday saying, “Our deep
apologies to everyone that has had challenges with the platform for
travellers. We are working across several ministries and agencies,
with banks and laboratories, across federal and state governments to
make this system work for all. We will communicate further soon.”

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Wednesday also issued
a waiver to passengers, advising airlines to allow passengers without
QR codes to board flights following difficulties several intending
passengers are having with the use of the online platform for
uploading information.

This, the agency said, should be a temporary measure until additional
on-going work to the payment platform is completed.

NCAA said airlines would be informed in the coming days of any changes
in this requirement.

QR codes are popularly known as 2D barcodes; by scanning them via a
smartphone, travellers can access the information encoded.

Reacting to these problems, travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba
African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko, urged concerned authorities to
allow passengers to for the tests on arrival.

“They can pay with their cards on arrival. They will do the
registration online and then pay on arrival. This is not the first
time the payment system has failed.

“It happened when the Nigerian Immigration Service introduced visa on
arrival. People are desperate so they should be helped.

“We should make available all payment platforms to enable them make
successful payment. Electronics payment system in Nigeria is easy but
there should be alternatives to the payment portal.

“The passengers should be allowed to make payment through POS. What is
happening is not good for anybody. All other issues could be managed
but passengers should be made to pay on arrival,” he said.

The immediate past President of the National Association of Nigeria
Travel Agencies (NANTA) and the Group Managing Director of Finchglow
Group Limited, Bankole Bernard expressed disappointment with the turn
of events, saying that the protocols and the payment system were not
well conceived before they were introduced.

He noted that there was no defined measures or processes that led to
the passengers COVID-19 protection system, but a knee-jerk decision
that were made to see whether they would work

“This shows how disorganised we are. It is high time they allowed
professionals to do government work. I recall an official of PTF
saying that we are not ready with the payment platform.

“They are just trying to make things difficult. They do not have any
laid down procedure. This is why many people have declined from
travelling. They said they would not travel till the third week so
that by that time they would have corrected the problems,” Bernard
said.