The United States has granted Nigerian airlines permission for direct US flights, officials said Monday, less than a year after a Nigerian allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound plane.
US ambassador to Nigeria Robin Renee Sanders lauded Nigeria on achieving so-called category one status, but also said the country needed to do more to ensure the regular use of full-body scanners.
“There are more things to be done … to ensure 100 percent body checks at international airports,” she said, but added that patdowns were being employed effectively.
Nigeria has been using full-body scanners sporadically at its international airports, with the civil aviation authority saying training has been ongoing to be able to employ them full-time.
Air marshals have also been traveling on flights in recent months, though officials have declined to provide details on the programme.
“Nigeria will do everything possible to sustain the rating,” Aviation Minister Fidelia Njeze said.
Category one status allows Nigerian carriers to fly directly to the United States using their own aircraft and crews.
The announcement comes months after Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was accused of trying to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day as it approached Detroit with explosives stitched into his underwear.
Passengers and crew were able to restrain Abdulmutallab and put out a small fire aboard the flight, which was carrying 279 passengers and 11 crew members.
The explosives had not been detected during routine scans in Lagos and at Amsterdam’s Schipol airport.
Because of the plot, Nigeria was placed on a US list of countries requiring special security for all flights heading to the United States.
Only five other African nations have category-one status: Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa.