The Federal Government has ordered aviation authorities to prevent 46 people identified as contacts of a confirmed Ebola patient from travelling by air for at least 21 days, as Nigeria strengthens measures to contain the disease.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said he had directed the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to immediately notify domestic and international airlines of the restriction.
The directive followed a virtual meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, who provided details of 44 people who had contact with the affected woman at a hospital after she developed symptoms. Two additional individuals identified as her domestic staff were also included in the monitoring process.
Keyamo said efforts were underway to isolate the identified contacts until health authorities could establish whether they had contracted the virus. The 21-day restriction corresponds to the period during which Ebola symptoms are generally expected to develop following exposure.
The minister stressed the need for airlines to enforce the restriction as part of the broader public health response. However, the identification of the 46 individuals as contacts does not mean they have tested positive for Ebola.
Keyamo also directed the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to intensify Ebola surveillance and response measures at all international airports.
According to him, existing measures include enhanced health screening, temperature checks, travel history monitoring, digital health declarations and closer coordination with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), following regional outbreak alerts.
The measures are intended to strengthen the early identification of travellers who may require further medical assessment and support the work of public health officials in tracing contacts and containing potential transmission.
The NCAA’s directive places airlines under an immediate obligation to act on the no-fly notification, making coordination between regulators, carriers, airport operators and health agencies critical to its implementation.
The Federal Government confirmed a case of Ebola in the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday following laboratory testing. The patient, a woman who recently arrived in Nigeria on an international flight from Uganda, had received treatment at a private hospital before the diagnosis was confirmed. She was subsequently placed in isolation and is receiving medical care.
The travel restrictions and strengthened airport surveillance form part of Nigeria’s precautionary response to the confirmed case. Authorities are continuing contact-tracing and monitoring efforts, while further updates from health officials are expected to clarify the status of those identified and guide any additional containment measures.
