Nigerian Mission in the United States has revealed that changes have been made for the planned evacuation of Nigerians who are stuck due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Consulate-General of Nigeria in New York announced the changes in a statement issued on behalf of the Nigerian Missions in the U.S.
According the statement, an adult is projected to pay a one-way economy ticket of between 1,300 dollars (N488,800) and 1,700 dollars (N639,200).
Furthermore, the evacuation which was earlier scheduled for Sunday May 10, has been brought back to Saturday May 9. The flight number was also changed from ET 509 announced on Sunday to ET 8509 by the same carrier, Ethiopian Airlines.
In a notice on Sunday, the consulate had said no fewer than 700 Nigerians registered with the missions in the U.S. for evacuation, to be done in batches.
It said the plane could only accommodate 270 passengers, who would be picked on first-come-first-served basis. It added that the list of evacuees would be prioritised according to their immigration status.
“This includes the need to consider those stranded with proof of short stay visas, the elderly, families with children and returning students,” it said.
The port of departure remains the Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey and departure time, 9.15p.m.
According to Wednesday’s statement, the plane is expected to land at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on May 10 at 11:15 a.m.
”Those already booked on Ethiopian Airlines ET 509 will now be transferred by the airline to the new flight ET 8509 on Saturday, May 9, 2020. The projected cost for the one-way economy ticket is between 1,300 dollars (N488,800) and 1,700 dollars (N639,200) per adult” the statement from the Consulate read
